Around mid-October, we hear “pie season is here” as we prepare for the holidays. The dessert is simple in appearance, but not always simple to execute. Getting a perfectly flakey, fully cooked crust is a challenge and something that stumps many bakers, professional or hobbyist. I find the baking of the dough, not the making of it, to be the real obstacle. 

This recipe may be simple, but it is the tips I’ve learned from peers and my many failures along the way that have made me confident baking pies. The following are my go-to tips to making a flaky, fully cooked pie every time. 

1. Weigh your ingredients. Weighing ensures you have accurate quantities, which is important when making pastry to get the same outcome each time. 
2. Keep your ingredients chilled. Measure all the ingredients out and chill them in the fridge before mixing. This helps keep the butter from melting while mixing. 
3. Look for a damp beach sand consistency. Slowly add the water, knowing that you might need more or less depending on the weather. The dough should barely come together when pinched between two fingers, like damp beach sand. 
4. Chill for 24 hours. Once the dough is made, chill the dough for at least 24 hours before rolling. This allows the dough to rest properly. 
5. Bake cold. After rolling and forming the dough in a pie or tart pan, chill the dough for another 30 minutes before baking. The extra cold butter will steam when put it into the oven, yielding a very flaky crust. 
6. Blind bake and cook fully. Always blind bake the crust (baking the crust without filling) to allow the crust to set, minimizing shrinkage. Baking the crust fully before filling the pie keeps the liquid from leaking or making a “soggy bottom.” 
7. Egg wash the interior of the crust. After the blind bake and before baking the crust completely, egg wash the interior of the crust. This seals the crust and adds more protection from the filling soaking into the dough. 

With the holidays quickly approaching, make this dough now, freeze it, and use when ready. Over the next two months, I will share my favorite holiday pie and quiche recipes using this dough recipe and how to properly bake. 

Chill pie dough for at least 24 hours for flaky pie crust. Justin/UP

Pie Dough
Yields 2 pie crusts 

Ingredients
315 grams all-purpose flour
15 grams sugar
5 grams salt
225 grams unsalted butter, cold and cubed
120 grams water, cold 

Directions 

1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, and salt on low speed. Stop the mixer. 
2. Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix on medium-low speed until butter is pea-sized and mixture feels like damp beach sand. 
3. Lower the speed to low and slowly drizzle in the water until dough comes together. You might not need to use all of the water, or you might need to add a little more. You want the dough to come together when pressed between your fingers but does not feel wet. 
4. On a floured work surface, dump the dough and form a large ball. Divide dough in half and form into two rounds. 
5. Wrap each round in plastic wrap and flatten. Chill dough for 24 hours before using or freeze for up to one month.