How to Make a Flaky Pie Crust

2025-09-26T00:00:00Z 2025-09-26T00:00:00Z meals-made-easy technique pie-crust baking pastry beginner

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Meals Made Easy by Tayler DiGiacomo

The key to a flaky crust is cold ingredients and not overworking the dough.

2½ cups flour + 1 cup cold butter + ½ cup ice water + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp sugar

Keep everything cold — cube the butter and refrigerate until ready to use. Fill a cup with ice water.
Mix dry ingredients — flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
Cut in the butter — use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse meal with pea-sized butter pieces. (Small chunks of butter = flaky layers.)
Add ice water — 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until the dough just comes together when squeezed.
Form into a disk — gather the dough, press into a flat disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll out — on a floured surface, roll from center outward until ⅛ inch thick.
Bake — follow your recipe's instructions.

Visible butter chunks are good — they create flaky layers
Don't overwork — the more you handle it, the tougher it gets
Chill before rolling — prevents shrinkage and keeps the butter cold
No pastry cutter? Use two knives to cut the butter in, or a food processor for 5-6 pulses