Even as a long-time lover of baking and a trained French pastry chef, making pie crust felt intimidating up until a few years ago. If you’re reading this post of pie crust tips, chances are you’re overwhelmed by it too!

One of the hardest parts is there are just so many tips for pie crust out there from so many different sources. And often, the tips contradict each other. It’s so hard to know what is good advice and what isn’t (and even harder just to find a simple, easy recipe).

All of this changed for me, however, when I learned how to make a basic pâte brisée, a flaky French-style pie crust perfect for pies, tarts and quiche. Since then, I’ve perfect my pie crust process even more and gathered lots of my own tips along the way.

If you’re planning on making homemade pie crust for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other day of the year, let this be your ultimate go-to guide for pie crust tips. And don’t miss out on my simple, four-ingredient pie crust recipe at the end of the post!

Understanding Pie Crust

While making pie crust from scratch may feel daunting, the ingredients are actually quite simple. To make a French pâte brisée, for example, all you need is flour, unsalted butter, water and salt. Some pâte brisée recipes also call for a bit of sugar, but I don’t use it in my recipe.

The ratio of flour to butter and the amount of water used in the dough is the important part. Too much flour and you’ll be left with an overly crumbly crust that breaks apart. Too much water and your dough will be sticky and may not cook through. Not enough butter and you won’t get that beautiful flake we all aspire to see in our pie crust.

Sounds complicated, right? It doesn’t have to be! Keep reading for all my best pie crust tips.

Tips for Flaky Pie Crusts

The key to making a flaky pie crust comes down to one key ingredient: butter. How much you use, the kind you use and the way you use it all impact how flaky your crust will be.

Tip #1: Make sure your butter is cold.

Pie crust recipes call for cold, cubed butter because we want the pieces of butter to be suspended within our dough. When the crust bakes and these pieces melt, it creates steam. This steam creates little air pockets within the dough and gives us the flakiness we’re looking for!

If your butter is not cold enough, it may melt while you’re mixing your dough together and rolling it out. If the butter melts and becomes too incorporated into your dough, it won’t create the steam needed for flakiness. Keep an eye on your butter as you’re working with it and chill as necessary.

Tip #2: Be mindful of your butter-to-flour ratio.

When making a pie crust, be sure to follow a recipe that uses a 2-1 ratio of flour to butter by weight. While very flaky doughs like a puff pastry will often call for a 1-1 ratio, we don’t want that much butter in a pie crust.

I use 280 grams of flour to 140 grams of butter to make one pie crust. With a ratio, this means you can easily increase or decrease the amount of pie dough you’re making.

Tip #3: Mix butter into flour carefully.

Before mixing your butter and flour together, be sure that your butter is very cold. The butter shouldn’t be rock hard, but cold enough that you can press and see your finger indented in it easily.

Toss the butter in the flour to coat it and then work it in with your hands. Try to work quickly so the butter doesn’t get too warm. You can also pop your dough into the fridge at any time if it feels like your butter is getting too warm.

Tip #4: Try European-style butter.

The most flaky pie crusts require cold butter. I like to use European butter for my crust because it has a higher fat content than most of the butter sold in the U.S. This fat content means it’s more pliable when it’s cold.

Other butters have higher water content. This can lead to butter that is very firm and hard to work with when cold and that warms up too fast when we’re mixing together the dough.

Tips for Making Pie Crust

Once you’ve got your butter and flour combination sorted out, it’s time to add the other critical ingredient: water. 

Pie recipes often call for a range of water amounts rather than giving a specific measurement. This is because different flours have different protein counts, which means they absorb water differently. Even if you’re baking with all-purpose flour, there can be differences between French vs American flour, for example, and differences between brands.

To master mixing together your pie crust, use these tips:

Tip #5: Add water slowly.

Add your water little by little. I like to add in cold water a tablespoon at a time. As you’re adding it, toss the mixture to coat the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients to combine them without over-incorporating and making the dough too warm.

Check out this technique in action in the video below:

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Tip #6: Use very cold water.

Keeping your dough cold is one of the most important pie crust tips out there. An easy way to do this is to use very cold water. If your hands or kitchen are especially warm, you can even add ice to your water. Just make sure pieces of ice don’t get into the dough.

Add just enough to bring the pie crust together. If you’re ever not sure if your dough is too wet or just too warm, I recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap and letting it chill before making any adjustments.

Tips for Rolling Out Pie Crust

Once you’ve made your dough, it’s time to get it ready for baking. This starts, of course, with rolling out the crust. This sounds like it should be simple, but it can often lead to a lot of frustration and self-doubt for home bakers.

Use these tips to make it easy:

Tip #7: Chill your dough before rolling it out.

Once you’ve finished making your pie crust dough, form it into a ball and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it chill at least 20-30 minutes before rolling it out. This will ensure the butter stays nice and cold even while you’re rolling, which is key for a flaky crust.

Tip #8: Rotate the dough frequently while rolling.

The easiest way to get an even thickness across your pie crust is by turning the dough slightly after every few rolls. This can also help prevent the dough from sticking to your work surface.

Tip #9: Use a floured surface sparingly.

It’s very common to see folks adding lots of flour to their cutting board or other work surface when rolling out dough. But when it comes to pie crust, this can have a major effect. Remember, if our flour-to-butter ratio is off, our crust won’t be lovely and flakey. 

A well-made pie crust should not be sticky in the first place. But if you are having trouble rolling it out, use just a very light dusting of flour on the rolling pin and work surface.

Tips for Baking Pie Crust

Once your dough is rolled out, it’s time to get it in the pie pan and bake it! Sounds simple enough, right? Well, there’s still plenty you can do at this stage to ensure you get the best crust.

Tip #10: Transfer pie crust to a pie pan the easy way

Once you roll out your dough, make sure that you have enough by placing your pie pan right in the middle of the dough. You’ll want to have at least an inch of border around the edge. To transfer it to the pie pan easily, fold the dough in half, lift it up and place it in the middle of the pan before unfolding it.

This method is much easier than trying to roll the dough up onto your rolling pin and has a lot less risk of sticking together than folding your dough into quarters, for example. Check out the video below to see this method in action.

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Tip #11: Know when to prick your pie crust (and when not to).

To prick or not to prick? This is one of the most common questions I get about making pie – and one of my most important pie crust tips! Thankfully, the answer is pretty simple! 

If you’re going to partially or fully bake your crust before adding filling, then you should also prick the bottom and sides of the pie crust. This will help with even baking.

If you’re not pre-baking your crust before adding filling, then don’t prick the dough. In this case, the filling can leak out and make the crust stick to the bottom of the pan.

Tip #12: Understand the difference between par-baking and blind baking.

You’ll see the terms “par-baking” and “blind baking” thrown around a lot when researching how to make pie crust or looking at pie recipes. 

Par-baking is exactly what it sounds like: partially baking your pie crust. If a recipe calls for par-baking your crust, you’ll bake it just enough to set and fill in the holes from pricking the dough. Then you’ll add your filling and bake it the rest of the way.

Blind baking, on the other hand, is when you fully bake your dough before adding any filling. Once the dough is fully baked and cooled, then you add some kind of filling that doesn’t need baking (such as a curd or cream).

Tip #13: Add weight when baking your crust.

When par-baking or blind baking your crust, you need to use something to weigh it down. While there are many options out there for pie weights you can use, I actually like to use sugar! Normally pie weights that are sold don’t include enough weights to actually work, and I don’t like to have a lot of beans and lentils on hand just for this purpose. But sugar, even after this, I can reuse it!

Simply take a sheet of parchment paper that is bigger than your pie crust. Lay it flat along the bottom and sides of your chilled pie crust and pour in enough sugar to fill the pie pan. Spread it out to ensure the crust is evenly weighed down on the bottom and sides.

Par-bake or blind-bake as instructed.

When done with the sugar, let it cool completely. It won’t melt but there may be a few clumps that you need to break up. Then you can put the sugar back in a container to store for later use! The sugar can be used for future pie-making but is also perfectly good for use in any recipe. 

Tips for Storing Pie Crust

Tip #14: Make your pie crust in advance.

This is by far one of my favorite pie crust tips, especially for Thanksgiving. You can actually par-bake or blind-bake a pie crust a few days in advance of using it! 

Once it’s done baking, let it cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Then simply store it on the counter or in your fridge and use it when you’re ready to fill and finish baking.

Tip #15: Try freezing your pie crust!

Can you freeze pie crust? Yes, you can! I’m sure we’ve all relied on frozen pie crust from the grocery store in a pinch, but you can use the same method with your homemade pie, too!

You can actually make and bake a full pie, then freeze it. Just leave it in the tin, allow it to cool completely and place the whole thing in a massive freezer bag. When you’re ready to eat it, defrost your pie in the fridge overnight, then place it in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 F/165C to crisp it back up.

I love to make pies ahead for busy holidays, but it’s also a great way to enjoy fresh summer fruit pies all winter long!

My Favorite Pie Recipes

Feeling confident enough to tackle homemade pie this year? You can use my pie crust recipe below and fill it with anything you want, or try some of my other favorite pie recipes below.

• French Easter Pie (Class Recording)
• Cranberry Apple Cheesecake Pie (Class Recording)
• Chicken Zucchini Pie Recipe
• Pate Brisee And The All American Pie

Want even more resources for making homemade pie crust? Check out my downloadable guide to my recommended accessories for the ultimate pie crust. You can also make pie crust right along with me in my Pie Crust Master Class. Bring me into your kitchen virtually and get step-by-step support to make your best pie crust yet.

You can also join me live on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 for my Pie Crust Basics bake-along. Let’s bake together!

Ready to get straight to baking? Use my favorite pie crust recipe below.