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Perfect Pie Crust | prettysimplesweet.com

Single-Crust Pie Dough

Buttery, crisp, crumbly, and flaky, this is a good old-fashioned pie crust recipe, also known as pate brisee.
YIELD 1 9-inch pie crust, enough for a single-crust pie

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups (175g/6.2 oz.) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (1 stick/113g) cold butter, cut into small cubes
  • 2-4 tablespoons (30-60 ml) very cold water

Instructions

  1. Process flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor for a few seconds until combined (Instead of food processor, you can do the whole process by hand, using a pastry cutter). Add butter and pulse until mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal (different size of butter pieces or some large pieces is fine), about 15 pulses. Add 2 tablespoons water and keep pulsing, adding more water as needed, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough isn’t dry and starts to clump together. Do not process to the point that a large ball of dough is formed, rather the dough should be quite crumbly with large clumps. Another way to check if it’s done, is to take a piece of dough and press it between your thumbs – the dough should stick well together without feeling dry or crumbly.
  2. Turn the dough to a floured surface and form into a ball. It should come together easily without being sticky. Flatten ball slightly with your hands to form a 1-inch thick disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before proceeding with your pie recipe.
  3. If you don’t want to use the dough right away, you can refrigerate it or for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to a month, then thaw it overnight in the fridge.