All-Butter Pie Crust (No Food Processor) Recipe
This all-butter pie crust recipe offers a deliciously flaky and tender pastry made entirely without a food processor. Using simple ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, cold butter, and ice water – this method relies on careful hand mixing and chilling to deliver a perfect base for sweet or savory pies.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes (including chilling)
- Yield: 4 servings (enough for one 9-inch pie crust) 1x
- Category: Baking
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Fat
- 220 g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
Liquid
- 110 g very cold water, ideally ice water
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and salt thoroughly to ensure even distribution of flavors.
- Add Cold Butter: Incorporate the cold, cubed unsalted butter into the flour mixture by pinching and rubbing it between your fingers until the butter pieces are roughly half tiny crumbs and half slightly larger chunks. This ensures a flaky texture.
- Combine with Water: Slowly add the very cold water to the butter and flour mixture. Gently knead with your hands just until the dough starts to come together, being careful not to overwork it to maintain flakiness.
- Chill the Dough: Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be chilled up to 2 days, which helps relax the gluten and solidify the butter.
- Roll Out Dough: When ready to use, lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the chilled dough to about 3mm thickness. It is now ready for shaping into your pie or tart shell.
Notes
- Ensure butter and water are very cold to achieve maximum flakiness.
- Do not overwork the dough to avoid tough crust.
- Chilling the dough is essential; if rushed, the crust may shrink during baking.
- You can freeze the dough after chilling wrapped tightly for up to 1 month.
- This crust pairs well with both sweet and savory fillings.
Keywords: all-butter pie crust, homemade pie crust, flaky pie dough, no food processor pie crust, easy pie crust
