An all-butter pie crust that’s still flaky? What’s the trick? There’s a secret ingredient that helps….
Years ago I went on a quest for a perfect pie crust. I found so many recipes. All of them included butter and all of them included either lard or shortening. My first few attempts at making an all butter pie crust, left me disappointed with the texture. Until I discovered in a magazine that vodka and sour cream help break down the strands of gluten to keep it flaky, but leave the taste pure butter and all natural.
Voda isn’t something that I really keep around my house, so I opted for the sour cream, but you can use vodka in place of the water.
Boring ramble. I know, I know. But friends, this pie crust is rich and buttery, yet flaky like shortbread! It will not disappoint. I find myself wanting to dump that filling and eat it like a cookie. In fact, the little humans that walk about my house have done that before.
So if the people who indulge on a Thanksgiving feast with you are itching for their crust to be homemade and by itching I mean they are the type to only eat the filling if the crust does not meet their standards……
I won’t name any names (ahem).
Then give this a try!
(It is even great when made in advance and thrown in the freezer until bake time.)
All Butter Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks/16 tablespoons, very cold
- 1/4 cup ice cold water
- 1/4 cup sour cream very cold
Instructions
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Combine flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl or a food processor.
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Give it a quick mix/pulse to combine the two ingredients.
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Chop butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add into flour mixture
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Use a pastry blender, your fingers, or a food processor to break down the butter into pieces about the size of a pea. (If you are in a bind, you can grate the butter with a cheese grater and mix it with the flour.)
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Pour water and sour cream into flour-butter mixture and mix until combined. (You may want to start out with a little less and then add as you go as different altitude and humidity can alter the exact amount needed.)
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Split into two balls, flatten into 2 inch thick disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for at least 45 minutes.
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Unwrap the dough.
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Lightly flour a flat surface (we love using a mat or you can even use parchment paper) and your rolling pin.
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Roll your dough until it is large enough you can tip your pie pan upside down on top of it and there is about an inch of pie dough sticking out all around it.
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To transfer the dough into the pan: fold in half one way and then the other, so that it's a quarter-fold.
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Lift the dough into pan and unfold.
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Fold under edges.
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Pinch the dough with two fingers on the outside and one on the inside for the fluted look.
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Poke a few holes in the bottom to decrease risk of bubbles forming.
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Wrap tightly, place in freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour or up to one month. Bake according to specific pie directions.
Directions for a pre-baked (blind-baked) shell:
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Follow rolling and pricking instructions, listed above.
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Return to freezer for an additional 15-20 minutes (if you have time). This helps pie maintain its shape during cooking. (You can skip if in a time crunch and just go with the pie weights, as listed below. But we always find that we can get better results if there's time to do this.)
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
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Line your pie shell with either parchment or aluminum foil (may need a couple of pieces).
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Fill pie shell with pie weights or dried beans of any type (you will need about a pound - enough to cover the bottom and push up around the edges. Remember, the whole point of this is to help the pie crust maintain its shape while initially setting in the oven.)
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Cook in oven for about 10 minutes.
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Remove pie weights and lining, and cook until golden brown, an estimated additional 10-15 minutes. (This can vary a lot depending on whether you put the crust back in the freezer, and just according to your oven. So just keep an eye on it.)
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!If Filling Before Baking:
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Do not prick pastry.
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Add desired filling.
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If desired, apply egg wash, being very careful not to break the delicate edges.
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Bake as directed in individual recipe.
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!Directions for a Double-Crust Pie:
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Place bottom pastry in pie pan (do not flute edges yet)
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Put in desired filling.
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Roll out remaining dough for top.
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Cut slits or a design in top pastry to allow steam to escape while baking.
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Fold bottom and top pastry edges together and flute edges.
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If desired, apply egg wash to top and edge of pie, being careful not to break the delicate edges.
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Bake as directed in individual recipe.
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