How to Make Flaky, Foolproof Pie Crusts: Tips & Techniques

Pie crusts can include the simplest of ingredients of only flour, fat, and water to complex blends of flours, fats, and liquids. Regardless of the ingredients, the key to making light and flaky pie crusts is almost always in the technique.

Pretty much everyone has a standard go-to pie crust, even if it’s a store-bought version. Regardless, if you have a few minutes (or a little more) on your hands, you can make your own. Ideally, that should be much quicker than going to the grocery store to buy one or at least without an extra trip. 😉

Why Pie Crust Tips & Techniques?

When I was preparing for my last post on making 3 generations of pie crusts, I realized I had so much I wanted to share, too much for one post. It seemed only fitting to create one post of the actual pie crust recipes and another on tips and techniques.

That leads us to today’s post. I really wanted to share some tips on making a successful pie crust that I’ve learned over the years of baking and from my mom and grandmas. There’s a little science along the way. In thinking about what I’ve learned over the years, I decided on 5 questions and realized they are quite common and should be discussed. These are questions I’ve asked in trying to create great pie crusts like what we all expect “grandma” to make.

5 Common Questions About Pie Crusts

Question #1- Is Acid (like vinegar or lemon juice) in pie crusts necessary?

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Professional pastry bakers have battled over the need of or lack of acid in pie dough for years. Some swear by it and others against it. It comes down to personal preference and what has been successful for them. Traditional American southern pie bakers that I know don’t use acid in their pie crusts. And neither do the French in their traditional pie crust called pâte brisée (meaning “broken dough” referring to the dough’s flakiness).

Myth or Fact? 3 Reasons Why Baker’s Use Acid in Pie Crusts

1- Acid prevents oxidation of the crust (or dough) keeping it from turning a “strange” gray color.

FACT! While the color is faint, it exists in unbaked pie dough left for a couple of days in the fridge. If acid is added (even baking powder), you shouldn’t notice any discoloration since the acid prevents oxidization of the iron in the flour. Think of it like an avocado when oxygen hits the green, it begins to turn brown fairly quickly.

2- Acid imparts a slight tang to the crust

FACT! I guess this is a fact, but maybe more of an opinion. 😊 If you like a little tang, then go for it.

3-Lemon or vinegar is thought to tenderize the dough since gluten begins to develop once water and flour are combined. The idea is that acid prevents overworking the dough meaning without acid, the dough might be tough. 

MYTH! Let’s see what science says. It is my understanding that acid needs to be at a much higher concentration than we can tolerate in a pie dough for it to reach the pH level needed to TRULY tenderize a dough. So, unless you use it for the tang, there really isn’t a need for it. However, if you’ve had luck using acid, then continue to use it. You know the saying… “if it ain’t broke…”.

Question #2- Why do some pie crust recipes contain egg yolk, white, or both?

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Egg (yolk only or both yolk and white) is beneficial in sealing the crust preventing the liquid ingredients from making the crust soggy. Meaning, you don’t necessarily need to blind bake your crust before filling it if you add an egg. However, I’ve never used egg in my pie crusts and my crusts turn out just fine. It’s a choice.

Question #3- What are some good pie crust techniques and why are they important?

Technique #1: Hard Fat is a High Five:

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Hard fat refers to the little chunks of fat, not oil. The hard fat creates pockets between the dough layers. When the fat melts, it becomes steam, resulting in layers of flakiness. Lard is known to create the flakiest crusts. But shortening is a very close second. Butter produces a less flaky crust but browns beautifully and adds flavor. I’ve had lots of luck with really flaky crusts using butter alone. I give credit to following all of the other techniques and tips. However, you could use half butter and half shortening in a pie recipe to ensure flakiness, flavor, and color.

Technique #2: Heat Before Baking is NOT Your Friend:

• Minimize touching the dough. Warm hands melt the fat resulting in a dense, less flaky crust. Try to use utensils. You can message the fat in with the flour using your hands, just try to limit the time you touch the fat.
• Refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes before AND after rolling out and shaping it. The cold prevents the fat from melting.
• ICE cold water or other liquid prevents the fat from melting. “The colder the liquid, the flakier the crust” (said my grandma).

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Technique #3: Rolling Large & Less is Best:

• Roll out the dough large enough to more than cover the pie pan. Strive for 2 inches beyond the perimeter of the pie plate. You want a nice overhang of dough to create a decorative edge. Use a knife or kitchen shears to trim off extra-long sections (those more than 2 inches). Use leftover dough to cover any cracks or errors.
• Roll hard and from the center, rotating the dough as you roll. Try to reach the appropriate size circle in as few rolls as possible. Rolling the dough develops the gluten.
• Rolling the dough on lightly floured parchment paper makes it easy to rotate the dough as you roll and helps to keep the dough from cracking.

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Technique #4: Blind Baking Makes a Difference:

• Blind baking or par baking is simply partially baking the crust before you fill it with liquid ingredients to be fully baked in the oven. The partial prebaked crust prevents a soggy dough from the liquid ingredients. Usually, blind baking refers to placing the crust in a very hot oven at 425˚F (220˚C) for 15-20 minutes. The dough should still be pale but not raw.
• Use pie weights, dried beans, or dried rice on parchment paper (or foil) or another pie plate of the same size with the bottom sprayed and sitting on the crust to parbake the crust before adding the filling. Weighing down the dough prevents the crust from bubbling up. You can also use a fork and prick the pie crust all around for the same reason.

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Technique #5: Blind Baking isn’t ALWAYS Needed:

• Bake at a high heat like 425˚F (220˚C) for the first 15-20 minutes, then decrease heat to a manageable baking time like 350˚F-375˚F (177˚C-190˚C) for longer baking. This is how I bake my quiche and how my southern grandma and mom both baked most pies they ever made that required baked fillings. And they made incredible sweet and savory pies!
• Use an egg in the crust to help seal the dough from penetrating liquids.
• If making a quiche, put down a good layer of cheese over the dough before adding other ingredients. A thin layer of hard cheese, like grated Parmesan, works great for this step. Add the liquid mixture last. The cheese layer helps to minimize the amount of liquid that sits on the dough.

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Question #4- What are some good flavor substitutions for indulgent pie crusts?

• Replace water in either a savory or sweet pie dough with sour cream or yogurt for a little tang (just use ~1/2 of the water amount). These also contain acid to limit any discoloration.
• Use milk or cream in place of water in equal amounts.
• Replace water with a fruit juice that compliments the filling, i.e., apple juice or apple cider for an apple pie, orange juice, etc.
• Use half shortening and half butter for the fat to get both a flaky and rich flavoring crust. You may consider replacing some of this fat with solid coconut oil.
• Change up the sweetener based on the filling. Use brown sugar for the sweetener in the crust for apple pies. Consider maple syrup for a pumpkin pie, but you will use less water.

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And Finally Question #5- What are some good standard tips to consider in making most pie crusts?

All-purpose flour is best. It has the right amount of protein and gluten to provide needed structure yet a tender crust.

Avoid kneading the dough. You only need to combine the ingredients and shape only enough to create a disk.

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You can use a food processor but be very careful NOT to overwork the dough. In fact, you only need to use the pulse button once you add the fat. Just ensure to cut in the fat well. Pour the water through the top shoot, a tablespoon at a time until just blended.

Place fat (shortening and/or butter) in the fridge to chill well before pulling out the ingredients to make the dough. I would say at least 30 minutes, but longer wouldn’t hurt.

Place ice and water (a little more than you need for your recipe) in a glass and on the counter before pulling out the ingredients to make the dough.

Strain ice out of the water before adding the water to the crust to prevent unwanted pockets in the dough from small ice particles.

If you want a little color and caramelization on your crust, add a little sugar to the dough. You can add granulated, powdered, or brown sugar. Pretty much any sweetener will work.

Careful not to stretch the dough, fold it in half and then in half again when picking up the rolled-out dough to place in the pie plate.

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If the dough shrinks (retracts) while you’re rolling it out, that means the gluten has started to develop too much. Just place the dough back in the fridge for another 15 minutes or so to allow the gluten time to relax again. Remove it and continue to roll it out.

Pie Crust Final Thoughts

The above tips and techniques are what I use in making my many pie doughs for both sweet and savory pies. I hope you find them useful and, as a result, you end up with a successful pie season with good homemade pie crusts.

Looking for a good pie dough? Try one my 3 Simple & Flavorful Pie Crusts: Savory, Sweet, OR Gluten-Free

Check out some other holiday recipes!

3 Simple & Flavorful Pie Crusts: Savory, Sweet, OR Gluten Free

Sinfully Rich and Silky 2-Way Mashed Potatoes

Gluten or Gluten-Free Holiday Savory Bread Pudding

The Berry Rolls (My Grandma’s Recipe)

Italian Panettone

German Stollen

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