Homemade Pie Dough
Homemade pie dough is easier to make than you might think. This Homemade Pie dough is ultra flaky, buttery and just absolutely delicious.
Making your own pie dough has its benefits. It has so much more flavor than store bought and is perfectly flaky. I love making my own pie dough for an extra touch to any pie.
The details
Mix the dry ingredients with the fats
This dough contains both butter and shortening. I know, I know, you’re thinking why shortening? Well, truth is, shortening is great in pie dough. Shortening helps pie crust maintain its shape, plus it makes it incredibly tender.
Use a fork or a pastry knife to cut the shortening and butter into the dry ingredients until pea sized bits form. Next, you’ll add cold water to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until small balls form.
Shape the dough into discs
On a floured surface, use your hands to shape the pie dough into a ball. If the dough feels sticky, sprinkle flour over the dough and work the flour into the dough. If the dough feels dry and crumbly, moisten your fingers with water and work the dough together with the moisture from your fingers. Divide the ball into 2 pieces, then flatten each piece into a disc.
Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or up to a few days.
The reason you need to refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours is to allow the butter to get cold. If the butter is warm, the dough will shrink and not maintain its shape well, even with the addition of the shortening.
ready to use
Once the dough has chilled in the fridge for 2 hours, it’s ready to use. You can roll the pie dough out on a floured surface directly from the fridge. I recommend only rolling one pie dough disc out at a time, while the other remains in the fridge, so that it can stay cold.
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PrintHomemade Pie Dough
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
Homemade pie dough is easier to make than you might think. This Homemade Pie dough is ultra flaky, buttery and just absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, COLD
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar salt, cold butter and shortening. Using a pastry knife or fork, cut the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture is in pea-sized pieces.
2. Add in cold water. Use a wooden spoon and your hands to combine the mixture until small balls form. To check if enough water has been added, press the dough between your fingertips. If the dough sticks together, you do not need to add more water. If it does not, add a teaspoon more cold water. You want to be careful when adding additional water, as too much water can make the dough sticky and difficult to roll out.
3. Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Form the dough into a ball. If the dough feels too dry, moisten your hands with water and work the dough together with your moistened hands. If the dough feels too wet, add a touch more flour to the top of the dough. Work the dough together to form a ball. Cut the dough ball in half, then flatten each half into a disc.
4. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. Once the dough has chilled, it is ready to use. I recommend working with only one disc at a time and leaving the other in the fridge to stay cold.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 2
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American