Best Flaky Pie Crust (Without Shortening)

4.13 from 318 votes

Best Flaky Pie Crust (Without Shortening)

This flaky pie crust recipe is melt-in-your-mouth tender, easy to roll, and made without shortening. A foolproof, old-fashioned crust perfect for sweet or savory pies.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Dessert, Pastry

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Flaky Pie Crust, Flaky Pie Crust Recipe, Pie Crust, Pie Dough, Pie Dough with Butter

Servings: Crusts (Top and Bottom)

Calories: 2390kcal

Author: Melissa Norris

Cost: Varies

Equipment

Mixing Bowl
Pastry Cutter
Rolling Pin
fork or mixing spoon

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour or pastry flour
1.75 cup butter or lard or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon sea salt I love Redmond Real Salt. Use code “Pioneering” for 15% off.
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar I use this homemade apple cider vinegar recipe.
1 egg
1/2 cup water ice cold

Instructions

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir to combine.
Cut in COLD butter (or lard, or coconut oil).
Fat is fully cut in when the flour is in crumbly pea size pieces.
Mix egg and vinegar together in a small bowl, then add to flour mixture along with 3 tablespoons of ice cold water.
Continue adding water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough just holds together, without crumbling, when pressed into a ball.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Divide dough into four equal balls, press out into a disc and either freeze or roll out to bake pies.

Notes

Recipe Tips:

The secret to a flaky crust is using ice-cold water and firmly chilled butter. Those flaky layers happen when the butter melts during the baking process, so you don’t want the butter to melt into the dough BEFORE baking, otherwise… no flaky layers!
Do not overwork the dough or add too much water.
Always rest the dough before rolling.
If the dough warms up, return it to the refrigerator for a few minutes.
Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar before baking for a perfectly golden-brown crust.

Storage and Make Ahead Instructions:

Wrap unbaked dough discs tightly and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for several months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.

Alternatively, roll out bottom crusts and place them into a pie plate, freeze until solid, then pop the frozen pie crust out, wrap it, and freeze. Bake the pie crust from frozen in the same pie plate you froze it in!

When freezing, be sure to mark your dough. I also freeze sugar cookie dough, and on Christmas morning, I mistakenly used sugar cookie dough for my pastry crust in a sausage quiche. My brother said, “Does this have maple-flavored sausage? It’s sweet.”

Nutrition