Easy, Flakey Pie Crust

This easy, 4-ingredient, flakey, and BUTTERY pie crust will be your kitchen staple. It’s truly beginner friendly and perfect for all quiche and pie recipes!

Nailing down the perfect and easy pie crust took a good amount of time. You know that feeling when biting into a perfect crust; it’s flakey, maybe even a little chewy, it tastes like real butter, and has a pinch of salt. Yum. There really is nothing like the perfect crust. Better yet, a good crust that can make a sweet or savory dish taste exceptional seriously gets a standing ovation in my book!

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Tools you’ll need for the Easy, Flakey Pie Crust

• Large bowl
• Pastry blender
• Fork
• 9-inch pie dish
• Digital kitchen timer
• Aluminum foil
• Pie weights or dried beans

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How to prepare the Easy, Flakey Pie Crust

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, cold butter, and sea salt. Mix together with a pastry blender until mixture looks like small peas.
2. One tablespoon at a time, add the ice water to mixture and stir with fork. until all dry ingredients are moist.
3. Shape dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap; chill in fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
5. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Carefully transfer dough onto a 9-inch pie dish. Either fold or trim edges with a sharp knife and crimp with a fork.
6. Line pastry with aluminum foil and top with pie weights or dried beans.
7. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

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Why does the butter need to be cold?

I remember thinking this every. single. time. I baked pastry. Why does every pastry recipe call for cold butter? I seriously didn’t understand.

That was until I began baking layered, rustic biscuits. I learned that butter will melt FAST if handled with our warm, loving hands. The butter needs to stay cold in order to keep the shape of the dough. If the butter melts, you’re left with a mucky, melty dough that’s extremely tough to handle and bake with!

That’s why a lot of pastry and baked goods recipes (like crusts, scones, biscuits, etc.) call for a pastry blender, forks, spatulas, and rolling pins, never saying to mix the dough with your hands. If you do mix with your hands, work more with your fingers and less with your warm palms.

Fact for the day: a lot of pastry recipes also use a marble slab or marble rolling pin because marble stays cool, so your butter won’t melt. I have to say using marble for baking has been an absolute game changer.

We learn something new every day, huh?

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Easy, Flakey Pie Crust Step-by-Step with Photos

In a large bowl, combine flour, cold butter and salt. Cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles small peas.

Bring dough together in a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for up to 30 minutes or overnight.

Transfer cold dough to a clean, lightly floured work surface. I like to lightly smash the ball of dough (while still in the plastic wrap) to flatten it a tad. This encourages movement in the dough before I begin rolling it out.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 13-inch circle. This doesn’t have to be perfect by any means! Carefully roll the dough onto your rolling pin and transfer to your pie dish.

Either fold or trim the crust edges with a sharp knife. Crimp edges to your preference. I love the traditional, rustic look of crimping with a fork!

Cover pie dish with aluminum foil and top with either pie weights or dried beans. This prevents the dough from “puffing” or rising while it bakes.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

**If you’re baking this crust to make a quiche (like my Kale and Bacon Quiche), go ahead and bake the first 15 minutes, then let cool. Continue with the quiche recipe instructions and bake time.

Let crust cool completely. Enjoy!