By Vaughn Vreeland
Updated Nov. 25, 2024
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 2 hours’ chilling
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes plus 2 hours’ chilling
- Rating
- 4(79)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Wonderful pie crust requires only a couple of ingredients and tricks to ensure it’s extra flaky and tender. This dough is hydrated with ice water and apple cider vinegar, which helps prevent a tough, chewy crust. Quartering the dough and stacking it before rolling yields many flaky layers, giving you a shortcut version of laminated pastry. This recipe makes enough dough for two crusts: freeze the extra round of dough, if you’re not using it, for up to 4 months. When you’re ready to use it, thaw it, wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator. (Watch me make my Thanksgiving pies on YouTube.)
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Ingredients
Yield:2 rounds of dough for 9-inch crusts
- 1tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅔cup/115 grams ice water
- 3cups/385 grams all-purpose flour
- 2tablespoons/28 grams sugar
- 2teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1¼cups/285 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
1778 calories; 117 grams fat; 72 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 34 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 161 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 963 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a liquid measuring cup, add the vinegar to the ice water. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and gently flatten some of the larger pieces with your hands as you massage them into the flour. You want some pieces about the size of a marble, and some small and flat. Larger pieces create flakes in the crust while smaller pieces make it tender.
Step
2
Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in about ½ cup of the icy vinegar water. Using a fork, gently work the flour into the water until it is mostly hydrated, adding more liquid if needed. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and gently knead it together a few times until the unincorporated bits of flour begin to disappear. Some floury bits are OK.
Step
3
Press the dough into a square, about 1½ inches thick, and cut into quarters. Stack 2 of the quarters on top of one another (place the others to the side) and gently press into another square about 1½ inches thick. Slice that into quarters again, and stack those 4 quarters on top of one another. Form that stack into a round and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to gently roll over the covered dough round to flatten it out into a round about 1½ inches thick. Repeat this process with the remaining two quarters. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days until ready to use.
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79
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Steph
Made this right after it was posted and used for the chess pie recipe. Worked really well for me with all of Vaughn's additional tips (watch the video!). Thank you Vaughn for the great video and recipe! This method and fat ratio is extremely similar to the book "Sister Pie" which is my normal go-to pie dough, but makes a bit more which is ideal for me (I like to have extra for decoration or if I mess up the rolling etc)
Suegayle
Will this work work gluten free flour?
Tyler
How long and at what temperature to bake this for once it’s ’ready to use’?
JJ
@Tyler Depends on the type of pie you’re baking. Refer to the actual pie recipe, such as the author’s fruit-based pies and custard-based pies. If pre-baking the crust (known as blind baking) is required, the pie recipe will tell you that, and exactly how to do it (including the oven temperature).
Tyler
@JJ Thanks! I understand there are associated recipes that have baking times and temps but I was curious about using this with a totally different filling/type of pie and was just looking for guidelines. Seems silly to me to not have any nod toward general baking instructions on a dough recipe but of course the filling dictate baking as well.
Sharon
@Tyler Tyler, bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350. How long you continue baking the unweighted shell depends upon whether or not you are baking the filled pie or using the shell for a fully prepared filling. Plan on 15-20 minutes at the lower temperature.
RC
If you are making for the Coffee and Maple Chess Pie, cooking times are listed. 425 degrees, center rack. Line the firm dough with foil and fill with pie weights. 425 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights then cook for 20 minutes at 350.
Karen
I would sure love to see this process on video!
Kara
@Karen it’s on YouTube!!! It’s a 46 minute video because it includes the 6 pie fillings that he just dropped here, but the crust is at the very start!
Taite
Can you freeze this and use?
Emma
@Question I made this recipe last night — it was the perfect amount for one double crust pie.
Katie
@Steph where is the video? My crust is a nightmare, the edge completely melted and slid into the filling.
JGJ
@SuegayleWould love to know how this recipe can be tweaked for gluten-free!
Rita Schmidt
Remember to roll out the dough so it’s very thin but able to be handled.
Dan A
Anyone have trouble with the crust being tougj and chewy?
Erica
This crust shrunk considerably more than when I do a half butter / half shortening crust. I love the idea of the lamination technique, so next time will use this technique with my tried and true half/half crust recipe (from PIE).
tanya
Oh, dear. I followed this as precisely as I could and it shrunk and turned greasy.
Cat B
Maybe a novice's question, but how do you keep the pie crust from shrinking so much along the sides? I used sugar as a pie weight (with foil) as I didn't have beans. This has always been an issue for me with crusts no matter what weight used. Help!
Kate Lowe
It took me a minute to understand what to do with the quarters of dough. I think they mean cut the square in half and set one half aside. Cut the other half in half again and stack. Pat into a square and cut that half in quarters. Stack all four quarters and roll in a circle. Then take the set aside half and do likewise.
Lorenzo Kay
What does he mean in using the the phrase “press into a round?” Is a “round” a disk, a sphere, or a flying saucer shape?
Michelle Bosch
@Lorenzo Kay he means a disk.
Katie
I can’t wait to make this, thank you :) any ideas on what to sub for heavy cream if I’m opting to go plant-based?
Devi
Just made the dough; what a great way to incorporate the butter flour water! Much more precise and easy to handle than my old way which was "hit or miss". The rounds are in the fridge until T-Day morning. Looking forward to the bake! Thanks for the video.
Bradley
I used this for the Sesame Swirl Pumpkin Pie and it was awesome! Super buttery and flaky. But the bottom layer was almost impossible to cut through. I followed the instructions , but wondering if my oven may run a little warm and I should cut a few min off of the par-baking next time? Bit of a novice with pies so open to feedback. Thanks!
Dan A
Anyone have trouble with the crust being tougj and chewy?
Mek
Can you do this in the food processor? The pie crust I usually make ( from nyt) I do in the processor!
Penelope
I am concerned about the plastic wrap, which is very polluting. Could the dough be chilled in a covered glass dish?
Taite
Can you freeze this and use?
Courtney
It’s mentioned in the recipe description that you can, but my question is should let it rest in the fridge first to finish hydrating, etc. before placing it into the freezer? I would think that going right into the freezer without any time in the fridge might prevent some of that process from happening. Would love to hear more thoughts on when and how (before rolled out in a plate) to freeze.
Mr. Freeze
Vaughn has provided this detail in the write up..."This recipe makes enough dough for two crusts: freeze the extra round of dough, if you’re not using it, for up to 4 months. When you’re ready to use it, thaw it, wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator."
Rita Schmidt
Remember to roll out the dough so it’s very thin but able to be handled.
Em
does anyone have a good substitute for apple cider vinegar? i unfortunately have an apple allergy :(
Teague
um regular vinegar? wine vinegar?
RebeccaL
I used red wine vinegar because it was 5am and there was no other available. I could smell it but the flavor was not noticeable after baking (though that could have been due to the cinnamon in the apple filling).
Anne
I've used vodka in pie dough (America's Test Kitchen's recipe calls for it). Vaughn also mentions that he considered it for this recipe but went with the ACV.
Karen
I would sure love to see this process on video!
Kara
@Karen it’s on YouTube!!! It’s a 46 minute video because it includes the 6 pie fillings that he just dropped here, but the crust is at the very start!
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