Martha Stewart Basic Pie Crust

Martha Stewart basic pie crust turns flour, cold butter and ice water into a flaky all-butter single 9-inch crust in 40 minutes. Try this easy dessert crust with few ingredients for Thanksgiving or Fourth of July baking, since it's made in a food processor and keeps in the fridge for days.

Keep the butter cold and stop pulsing while a few pea-size pieces still show, because those pieces melt in the oven and make the layers. Overmix the dough and the crust bakes up tough instead of flaky.

Martha makes the dough in the food processor instead of cutting in the butter by hand, which keeps it cold and quick. She also chills the shaped disk for at least an hour and rolls it out on floured parchment, so it lifts into the pie plate without tearing.

Martha Stewart Basic Pie Crust

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Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calories

170

kcal

Cold butter pulsed into flour gives a crumbly dough that rolls out smooth after a good chill. Once it bakes, the crust turns golden, tender and flaky at the edges.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
  

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  

• 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
  

Directions

• Pulse the dry ingredients: Briefly pulse 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in a food processor. Then add 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces.
• Cut in the butter: Pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter left. Then sprinkle in 2 tablespoons ice water.
• Add the water: Pulse until the dough is crumbly but holds together when you squeeze it. If it needs more, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and don't overmix.
• Chill the dough: Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, fold the plastic over it and press it into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days, until firm.
• Roll it out: Roll the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper with a floured rolling pin, until it makes a 14-inch round. Then wrap it around the rolling pin, discard the paper and unroll it over a 9-inch pie plate.
• Fit into the pie plate: Gently fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the plate, without stretching it. Stretched dough shrinks back as it bakes.
• Trim and crimp: Trim the dough to a 1-inch overhang with kitchen shears, then fold it under itself to form a rim and press to seal. Crimp the rim with your thumb and forefinger.
• Refrigerate until ready: Refrigerate the shaped crust until you're ready to fill it, for up to 1 day. Then bake it with any pie or tart that calls for a single 9-inch crust.

Tools for this recipe

• Cuisinart 14-cup food processor, J.K. Adams French rolling pin, Pyrex 9.5-inch glass pie plate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I freeze this pie crust dough?

Yes, wrap the dough tightly in plastic and then foil, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before you roll it out, so the butter stays cold.

How far ahead can I make the dough?

The dough disk keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, which makes it easy to prep before a busy baking day. A crust already fitted into the pie plate holds in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Can I make this crust without a food processor?

Yes, use a pastry cutter or two forks to work the cold butter into the flour until it looks like coarse meal. It takes a few more minutes, so keep the butter cold the whole time.

Can I use this crust for a tart?

Martha says it works for any pie or tart that calls for a single 9-inch crust. For a tart pan, roll the dough to about the same size and press it into the fluted edge.

What is the most common mistake with pie crust?

Overmixing the dough is the usual problem, because it warms the butter and develops the flour into a tough crust. Stop pulsing as soon as the dough holds together when squeezed.