Best Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups (325g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
• 1 cup (230g) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed

Instructions

1. Add 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and sugar to a medium bowl. Stir 2 to 3 times until combined.
2. Scatter butter cubes over flour and mix briefly with a fork or spatula to coat the butter with flour.
3. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender, working mixture until the flour has a coarse, mealy texture similar to fresh bread crumbs. About 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add remaining 1 cup of flour. Work butter and flour with the pastry blender until flour is evenly distributed. About 20 seconds. (Dough should look crumbly with pea-sized pieces, see video for reference).
5. Sprinkle ice water over the mixture — start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until dough comes together.
6. Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut ball in half then form each half into disks. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using).
7. Remove one of the dough disks from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes or more as needed. (Dough straight from the refrigerator can be stiff, making it hard to roll out. Leave it on the counter for a few minutes to warm up slightly, then try rolling it out again.)
8. Lightly flour work surface, top of dough and rolling pin. Then use rolling pin to roll out dough to a 12-inch circle (about 1/8-inch thick). Be sure to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below — add a small amount of flour when necessary.
9. Check for size by inverting pie dish over dough round. Look for a 1-inch edge around the pie dish. To transfer dough to dish, starting at one end, roll dough around rolling pin then unroll over dish.
10. Gently press dough down into dish so that it lines the bottom and sides of the dish. (Be careful not to pull or stretch the dough). Then, use a knife or pair of kitchen scissors to trim dough to within 1/2-inch of the edge of the dish.
11. Fold edge of dough underneath itself so that it creates a thicker, 1/4-inch border that rests on the lip of the dish. Then, crimp edges by pressing the pointer finger of one hand against the edge of the dough from the inside of the dish while gently pressing with two knuckles of the other hand from the outside. Refrigerate dough at least 20 minutes or freeze for 5 minutes before baking.
12. If making a double crust pie, do not crimp edges yet. Roll out second dough disk, fill pie then top with second dough round. Trim the edges then crimp.
13. Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Place a baking sheet on a middle oven rack.
14. Roll out enough dough to make one 9-inch crust (1 dough disk). Place into a pie plate and then pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork (this prevent air pockets or bubbles from forming while baking). Line the crust with two sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper. (Be sure to push foil against the edges of the crust). Then, fill foil with dried rice, dried beans or pie weights. Refrigerate 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
15. Place pie crust onto preheated baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 400°F (204°C). For a fully baked crust, bake 20 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden. For a partially-baked crust (a crust that will be baked again, like a quiche), bake until the bottom crust is just beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes.
16. To add a shiny exterior to fully baked crust, make an egg wash by whisking one egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of cream in a small bowl. Then, remove rice, beans or pie weights and foil from pie crust. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg wash. Bake until egg wash is dry and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool crust completely before filling.