Basic Pie Dough
Prep Time
15 mins
Resting Time
30 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Knowing how to make a basic pie dough or pastry is part of every cooks repertoire. A food processor makes the job very easy, although you can make it by hand as well.
Course:
Desserts/Sweets
Cuisine:
French, American
Keyword:
Vegetarian
Servings: 8 1 (10-inch) pie crust circle
Calories: 242 kcal
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting the work surface (7½ ounces)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces unsalted butter cut into cubes and well chilled (1½ sticks)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water as needed
Instructions
-
This recipe makes pastry for one 10-inch pie circle, so if you are making a pie and want both a bottom and top crust, double the recipe and divide into two disks.
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By hand: Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the flour, or pinch the butter in the flour with your fingers, until it has the consistency of coarse meal.
-
Add the lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of water, drizzling it as evenly over the flour as possible. Fold the dough together with your hands until you are able to collect it into a dough ball. You may need to add more water in order to get to this stage.
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Shape the dough into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before proceeding to step 7.
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Using a food processor: Freeze the butter cubes for 15 minutes before starting. Blend the flour, sugar and salt together in the food processor bowl. Add the semi-frozen butter cubes and pulse together with the flour until the butter chunks in the flour are about the size of peas.
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Add the lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of water, drizzling over the flour as evenly as you can, and pulse the mixture again to get the dough to come together. You may need to add more water in order to get to this stage.
-
Transfer the dough to a counter dusted with flour, and shape the dough into a disk. You may need to knead the dough a little or add a little more water to get the dough to come together as a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least thirty minutes before using.
Recipe Video
Nutrition Facts
Basic Pie Dough
Amount Per Serving
Calories 242
Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 11g55%
Cholesterol 46mg15%
Sodium 148mg6%
Potassium 30mg1%
Carbohydrates 19g6%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 530IU11%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 1.1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.