Today I am making the Claire Saffitz Flaky All-Butter Pie Dough from her book Dessert Person. I have been a huge fan of Claire since watching her on Bon Apetit and through her switch to creating content on her own. For a couple of years, I have been trying recipes from this book and have been very pleased with the results.
So if you're interested in an all-butter pie crust, let's get into it!
INGREDIENTS
makes 1 pie crust
- 1 stick + 2 tbs.Unsalted Butter
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tbs. Granulated Sugar
- ¾ tsp. Salt
- 1 cup Cold Water*
- Pie Weights or Rice, for parbaking
* you will not be using ALL the water, just as needed
MAKING INSTRUCTIONS
Prep the ingredients that need to be as cold as possible. Working quickly is key! First in a small measuring cup fill with 1 cup of water with ice and keep it in the fridge.
Next cut 5 tbs. of butter into 1/8 inch slices and place in the fridge.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, and salt.
Cut the remaining 5 tbs into 1/2 inch slices and toss into the flour mixture.
Using your hands, flatten the butter pieces and work them into smaller pieces. Once the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea, take the rest of the butter out of the refrigerator.
Follow the same process of working the butter into the flour. It will be ready once the mixture is coarse, slightly yellow and a combination of larger butter pieces and smaller.
Taking the cold water back out, add 5 tbs at first and combine. Knead the dough a few times until a shaggy and dry dough begins to form in the bowl.
Line your work surface with some plastic wrap and transfer the largest pieces onto it.
With the remaining dough in the bowl, add a tsp. of cold water at a time, working in with your hands. When done, only a few dry spots should remain. Add the remaining dough to the plastic wrap. (I didn't need more than the original 5 tbs. and transferred it all at once)
Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick square or rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
Unwrap the dough and let the dough sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes to soften slightly.
Use a rolling pin to beat the dough across the surface to make it pliable. Dust the top and underside with flour and roll out so it's 3x longer than it is wide, about 1/4 to 1/4 inch thick.
Fold into thirds then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
The dough is now ready for use and will last for 3 days in the fridge.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set aside.
Unwrap the dough and let the dough sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes to soften slightly.
Use a rolling pin to beat the dough across the surface to make it pliable. Dust the top and underside with flour and roll it out to a 13-inch round that's about 1/8 inch thick.
Place into a 9-inch pie plate. Firmly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the plate.
Using scissors, trim the excess dough hanging off, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang.
Tuck the overhang underneath itself all the way around. Press down firmly on the pie plate and crimp all the way around.
Freeze until very firm, at least 10 minutes. Then prick the bottom of the plate with a fork to prevent puffing. Line the inside of the plate with two pieces of foil so it covers the entire pie, edges included. Fill the plate with pie weights, dried beans, or rice and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake on the center rack until the crust appears golden when looking under the foil, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the pie weights carefully and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Return the sheet to the oven and bake until the crust is golden all over, about 20- 25 minutes for a parbaked crust. For fully baked, bake another 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
MAKING
Prep the ingredients that need to be as cold as possible. Working quickly is key! First in a small measuring cup fill with 1 cup of water with ice and keep it in the fridge.
Next cut 5 tbs. of butter into 1/8 inch slices and place in the fridge.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, and salt.
Cut the remaining 5 tbs into 1/2 inch slices and toss into the flour mixture.
Using your hands, flatten the butter pieces and work them into smaller pieces. Once the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea, take the rest of the butter out of the refrigerator.
Follow the same process of working the butter into the flour. It will be ready once the mixture is coarse, slightly yellow and a combination of larger butter pieces and smaller.
Taking the cold water back out, add 5 tbs at first and combine. Knead the dough a few times until a shaggy and dry dough begins to form in the bowl.
Line your work surface with some plastic wrap and transfer the largest pieces onto it.
With the remaining dough in the bowl, add a tsp. of cold water at a time, working in with your hands. When done, only a few dry spots should remain. Add the remaining dough to the plastic wrap. (I didn't need more than the original 5 tbs. and transferred it all at once)
Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick square or rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
Unwrap the dough and let the dough sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes to soften slightly.
Use a rolling pin to beat the dough across the surface to make it pliable. Dust the top and underside with flour and roll out so it's 3x longer than it is wide, about 1/4 to 1/4 inch thick.
Fold into thirds then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
The dough is now ready for use and will last for 3 days in the fridge.
BAKING
First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set aside.
Unwrap the dough and let the dough sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes to soften slightly.
Use a rolling pin to beat the dough across the surface to make it pliable. Dust the top and underside with flour and roll it out to a 13-inch round that's about 1/8 inch thick.
Place into a 9-inch pie plate. Firmly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the plate.
Using scissors, trim the excess dough hanging off, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang.
Tuck the overhang underneath itself all the way around. Press down firmly on the pie plate and crimp all the way around.
Freeze until very firm, at least 10 minutes. Then prick the bottom of the plate with a fork to prevent puffing. Line the inside of the plate with two pieces of foil so it covers the entire pie, edges included. Fill the plate with pie weights, dried beans, or rice and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake on the center rack until the crust appears golden when looking under the foil, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the pie weights carefully and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Above is once I removed the weights and returned it to the oven.
Return the sheet to the oven and bake until the crust is golden all over, about 20- 25 minutes for a parbaked crust. For fully baked, bake another 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Now you have a crust ready for pie filling!
If you would like to share this recipe anywhere, feel free to use one of these images!