Pie Crust

Prep: 15 min, plus 1 hour chilling Serves: one double crust or two single 9-inch crusts

An all-butter crust that works for any pie on this site. Cold butter and as little water as possible are what make it flaky.

Ingredients

Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
Add the butter. Cut it in with a pastry blender or your fingertips until most of it is the size of peas, with a few larger pieces left. Work quickly so the butter stays cold.
Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture and toss with a fork. Squeeze a handful: if it holds together, it is ready. If it crumbles, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide the dough in half, press each half into a flat disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
To roll, let a disk sit out 5 minutes. On a floured counter, roll from the center outward, turning the dough a quarter turn often, to a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick.
Fold the dough in half, lift it into a 9-inch pie plate, and unfold. Ease it into the corners without stretching.
For a single crust, trim to a 1-inch overhang, fold the edge under, and crimp. For a double crust, add the filling, roll out the second disk, lay it on top, trim, seal, crimp, and cut a few vents.

Blind baking (for cream pies or a crisp bottom on pumpkin): chill the shaped crust 30 minutes. Line it with parchment, fill with dried beans or pie weights, and bake at 400°F (205°C) for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, until the bottom looks dry. For a fully baked shell, go until golden.
If the edges brown too fast, cover them with strips of foil or a pie shield.
Freezing: wrapped disks keep 3 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
A food processor works too: pulse the dry ingredients, pulse in the butter until pea sized, then drizzle in the water while pulsing just until it clumps.