How to make the Perfect Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust. Every Time.  

by RavenWerks Guild Food & Nutrition
sliced apple pie on brown surface
Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com

Today is a two for one. With the advent of baking season, I figured I would share my favorite pie crust recipe with you. This is the pie crust I use for everything. It can be varied or changed by adding herbs, seasonings, or spices depending on what the occasion calls for; but I have yet to find a pie crust recipe to beat it.  

Of course, I am a little biased because my grandfather taught me to make this pie crust recipe, but he made the best pies, and he was very proud of them. He usually stayed out of Grandma’s way in the kitchen unless it was making homemade ice-cream, fish fry, or pie. And he had perfected his pie crust.  

  • Taylor and Mikaela with Grandpa Lasley
  • Mikaela and Grandpa Lasley making Christmas Cookies

In future recipes if you ever see it call for a pie crust, this is the one I am using.  

Mis en place (get your shit and put it where it goes): 

  • 3 Cups of Flour 
  • 2 tsp of salt 
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar 
  • 1 ¼ Cups of butter or Crisco, cut into small pieces (I have actually found that an even split of the two produces the best result). 
  • 2 egg yolks 
  • 1/3 Cup milk 
  • 1 Tbsp of lemon juice 
  • Wax paper for rolling 
  • Pastry cutter (can be done by hand, but this is much faster and produces a better texture). I like this one from Sur la Table but you can technically get them from amazon.

Procedure: 

  1. Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter using pastry claw or by hand until pea-sized chunks form. Add Yolks, Lemon and Milk. Mix with pastry claw or by hand until a sticky dough forms.  
  1. Roll out between wax paper. Trust me when I say use wax paper. The excellent flaky texture is a result of the high fat content and sticky dough. Flouring a surface will result in a blander, tough crust. Nost using wax paper or trying to forgo the flour will result in a ripped crust during rolling, or a mess. Wax paper also makes for quicker clean up and an easy transfer to a pie plate.  

This dough can be used immediately or stored in the freezer. It makes one crust, perfect for struedel toppings, or open faced pies. If you are doing a sealed pie, or most fruit pies- you’ll want to double the recipe and roll out in halves.  

Have fun! 

~Mikaela  

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