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Home » Baking and Desserts » Homemade Refrigerated Pie Crust

Homemade Refrigerated Pie Crust

by Beth Lee · Published: Mar 8, 2019 · Modified: Nov 17, 2022

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Homemade refrigerated pie crust -- learn how to make your own pie crusts, refrigerate or freeze the dough, and you'll be ready to make pie anytime!

For ease of browsing, find all of my baking and dessert recipes in one place.

Pie crust in a pie pan with a fluted edge.

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Acrophobia, claustrophobia, doughaphobia. Until I started writing this blog in 2010, I was definitely doughaphobic. If there was yeast, butter or a rolling pin involved, I froze up. With the help of a food friend and my very own dormant chef, I faced the pie dough and did not let it crumble me.

Keep reading and I promise you too can learn to make homemade refrigerated pie crust with great success and no fear involved!

Why you'll love this post and recipe

Do you cringe at the thought of making your own pie crusts? Do you run for the frozen aisle to grab pre-made pie dough or dial the emergency Marie Callender’s 911PIE number? If you do this out of fear and not necessity, then this post is for you!

I include my top tips for pie dough novices and those suffering from an acute case of doughaphobia. If you have been asked to bake pies for a holiday dinner, such as Thanksgiving, and haven’t slept since the request came in, read this post.

For those of you who are pie crust experts already, please just head straight to the comments section and leave us your favorite tip or words of encouragement. We will appreciate your experience and support!

Ingredients you'll need

You only need 5 ingredients to make pie dough: flour, butter, salt, sugar and ice water. If you are planning to use the pie crusts for a savory recipe such as turkey pot pie, you can reduce or leave the sugar out.

Ingredient shot for pie crust showing butter, sugar, flour, salt and ice water.
  • All-purpose flour: I use either Gold Medal or King Arthur's all-purpose unbleached flour. I have not experimented with any other kind of flour ... yet.
  • Unsalted butter: I use whatever brand is the most affordable, generally, to be honest! The key with the butter is for it to be cubed and cold.
  • Sugar: I just use standard granulated white sugar.
  • Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt for all of my recipe testing. If you use Morton's Kosher Salt, the guideline is to use about ½.

How to make pie dough

I use my stand mixer to make my dough BUT you can use your food processor or your hands or a manual pastry blender device that many of us remember from our childhood. Do not let your equipment or possible lack thereof stop you!

In fact, many experienced bakers would tell you to start with your hands so you can feel how the butter and flour come together to create the marvel that is pie dough!

1. Prep your ingredients - I like to start by cubing the butter and refrigerating it. It's crucial that you add it to the flour when it is chilled.

Cubes of butter over flour mixture in mixer bowl.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together - the flour, salt and sugar.

Dry ingredients mixed together in the stand up mixer bowl.

3. Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture and continue to let the paddle attachment work its magic (if you are using the stand mixer). The flour and butter will begin to mesh together and you'll see varying pea sized pieces of flour and butter emerge.

Pie dough in a mixer bowl showing that the butter is being incorporated and pea size pieces are emerging.

4. Add ice water starting with the least amount in the recipe. Put a pinch of dough between your fingers and feel the texture. If it's still sandy or not staying together, add more water a tablespoon at a time.

Hand pinching a piece of dough to see if it's ready.

5. Once it comes together, remove it to a clean surface (I use parchment), divide the dough in two, roughly form two disks. Wrap and refrigerate.

Disk of pie dough on parchment with a wrapped disk to the side partially showing.

Check out my pie crust web story for a quick visual overview of this recipe.

Expert Tips and FAQs

Here are my best tips I learned over the years while preparing homemade refrigerated pie crusts.

1. Cut up butter ahead of time and put in fridge so it’s ready to go. Using chopsticks to put the butter in the mixer works great if you know how to use them.

Butter cut into cubes in a white bowl.

2. Have ice water ready before you start preparing the pie crust.

3. If using a stand mixer to make your pie dough, watch closely once you put the butter in. The transformation into pea-sized pieces happens all of a sudden - you will hear a change in the sound of the mixer as the transformation is about to happen. So stand by the mixer and watch and listen!

Pie crust in the stand mixer turning into pea size pieces.

4. Once you add the ice water, the dough comes together quickly - as quick as 10 seconds.

Pie dough in the stand mixer bowl after water was added and it came together.

5. When you form the dough into two disks after it comes together, don't work the dough. Just divide the dough, roughly form two disks, wrap and refrigerate. No need for perfection here.

Two disks of pie dough on a piece of parchment - one wrapped in plastic wrap and one not.

6.The depth and diameter of your pie plate matter. Always note what size pie dish the recipe you are using calls for. Cheryl told me to get standard depth (about 1.25") 9" diameter glass pie plates. At the time, I couldn't find them anywhere. I have 9.5" diameter pie plates that are closer to 2" deep. So I need more dough and filling if I'm making 2 pumpkin pies. Measure what you have so you won't be surprised that you have too little or too much pie crust dough!

Now for the Frequently Asked Questions! Professionally-trained chef, cookbook author and friend, Cheryl Sternman Rule answered so many questions for me when I learned to make pie crust. Here are the invaluable answers she shared with me:

Can I make the dough the day before and refrigerate it?

Absolutely! You can even make them the weekend before, roll the crust out, line the pie plate (she recommends 9-inch glass), then wrap it in a double layer of plastic/foil and freeze the whole crust/plate combo. You could add a piece of parchment on the dough so the foil doesn’t stick.

Remove the frozen pie crusts from the freezer the night before and put the whole thing in the refrigerator to temper the glass so you’re not putting a rock-solid frozen pie crust and plate directly into a hot oven.

OR, just make the dough a day or two or three before, refrigerate it, and roll out and bake it the day you need the pies.

If refrigerated overnight, how long should the dough sit out of the refrigerator before you roll it out?

The actual temperature of your refrigerator and your home will affect how long you need to leave the dough at room temperature before it's malleable enough to roll out. I would start with 5-minute increments.

If it's just a bit too hard and you are in a rush, Cheryl said to whack it with your rolling pin. I've never had to do that (though it does sound fun!). Just use your warm hands to begin to flatten the dough and that will likely move it right along to a softer state.

Cheryl added: "I'm guessing the whacking compresses the layers in a way that's not optimal, but I figure, hey, I'm rolling it out anyway, how much additional harm could I really inflict?"

Do I need to pre-cook the pie crust?

Many pie crusts do have to be “blind-baked” or par-baked before the filling is added. Every recipe should instruct whether you should pre-bake or not. I keep a bag of beans that I use over and over for when I do need to blind bake a crust. Line the crust with parchment paper and then pour the beans in to weigh down the crust so it doesn't expand. Many pumpkin pies call for pre-baking and many do not.

Cheryl suggested if not blind baking the crust, bake the pie on the bottom rack of the oven and the glass pie plate ensures thorough baking, too. Always check the pie about 15 minutes before it’s scheduled to come out, and cover the edges with a little foil if they’re getting too dark.

Where should I roll out my dough?

Roll out your dough on a very well-floured countertop or board, then use a pastry brush to lightly brush off excess flour before you place the refrigerated pie crust in the pie dish.

What tools do I need to prepare my pie crust?

Invest in a bench scraper if you don’t have one. They’re cheap. It will help you move your dough around or cut your dough in half, etc. A pastry brush is handy and of course a rolling pin and pie plates!
Tools that are helpful for making pie crust including a bench scraper, pastry brush, marble rolling pin and wooden rolling pin.

Recipes using homemade refrigerated pie crusts

Mini Cherry Pies

Turkey Pot Pie

Butterscotch Pie

Balsamic Cherry Pie

Blueberry Pie

Vinegar Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Want to make a non-traditional nut-crusted pie? Try this key lime pie!
 

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P.S. If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or a review in the comment section below. I so appreciate your feedback! AND find more inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Signup for my email list, too!

Pie crust in a pie pan with a fluted edge.

Homemade Refrigerated Pie Crust

This classic butter-based pie dough is very closely adapted from a recipe called Pie Dough with Water from Emily Luchetti's book Classic Stars Desserts and has been my go-to since 2010. It will yield 2 pie crusts if using standard depth 9" pie pans.
4.77 from 17 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
1 hr
Total Time 15 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 people
Calories 401 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1.5 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
  • 3.5 to 4.5 tablespoons ice water
  • flour for dusting

Instructions
 

  • Prepare your butter by cubing it into about ½-inch size pieces and keep this refrigerated. This can certainly be done ahead of time and be waiting in the refrigerator for your next steps.
    Butter cut into cubes in a white bowl.
  • Using your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl and mix it together briefly on low speed to combine.
    Dry ingredients mixed together in the stand up mixer bowl.
  • Add the cubes of butter to the bowl of the stand mixer.
    Cubes of butter over flour mixture in mixer bowl.
  • On low speed, mix the flour and butter together until they resemble small uneven size peas. If you listen while the mixer is working, you will hear it change tone as the butter becomes incorporated into the flour.
    Pie dough in a mixer bowl showing that the butter is being incorporated and pea size pieces are emerging.
  • At small pea stage, add in 3.5 tablespoons of the ice water and mix for 10 more seconds. Then take a small bit in your fingers and squish it. Does it hold together? Then you probably added enough water. Is it a bit crumbly? Add in another tablespoon of the ice water. 
    Hand pinching a piece of dough to see if it's ready.
  • Once the dough has formed, remove it to a lightly floured surface or parchment paper. Split it in two, wrap each piece separately. Weigh them out to be precise if you’d like. Wrap well and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least an hour before you roll them out. Even better leave them overnight or for as long as 3 days. If you need to wait longer, then freeze them and they will last for at least a month.
    Two disks of pie dough on a piece of parchment - one wrapped in plastic wrap and one not.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 4gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 323mgPotassium: 50mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 875IUCalcium: 14mgIron: 1.8mg
Keyword pie crust, pie dough, pies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Beth Lee in red apron looking at vegetables on cutting board

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lori

    November 20, 2022 at 4:01 pm

    I am using your tips for after image my crust. Wasn't sure if I could roll it out then put in the fridge in the pie plates. Thanks!! I make my crust kinda like you but I use half butter half crisco. I'm not a fan of all butter crust unless it's for quiche. My mom made it this way and I grew up eatting it like this and I just love the crust . Give it a try. It's flakey and so yummy.! Anyways thanks for the fridge tips! Happy Thanksgiving.

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      November 21, 2022 at 7:56 am

      I am so glad Lori! I did exactly that last week when I wanted to test my pie crust (a new recipe) and my pie filling. Left it in the fridge ready to go for 2 days, then realized I didn't have time to bake it yet. So I put it in the freezer for a day or two well wrapped and then took it out when I had time. The crust was still perfect and ready to go. Such a time saver to have them rolled out and ready! Have a great Thanksgiving.

      Reply
  2. merdeka138 login

    May 11, 2022 at 1:55 am

    Thank you for sharing, I would like to know more about how to make a pie dough for fun haha. Keep sharing amazing content mate.

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      May 11, 2022 at 10:33 am

      Awww - it's always fun isn't it? Now I wonder why I ever was afraid of a piece of dough. Just focus on the end result - a delicious pie! What's your favorite filling? So glad you are enjoying my posts!

      Reply
  3. ValC

    November 21, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    20 Tablespoons of butter? Is that right? This is more than twice the amount I've seen in other recipes. Just checking to make sure before I have a go. Perhaps this is why the other recipes have failed?

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      November 21, 2019 at 4:40 pm

      Yes I am certain! That was my reaction years ago when I started making my own pie doughs. So it's 10 oz or 20 tablespoons. Each standard stick is 4 ounces or 8 tablespoons. Butter (or whatever fat a recipe calls for) is the key to the flakiness of the crust. Remember also that this makes two crusts. Of course, that doesn't help if it's a double crust pie :-). In any case, it's Thanksgiving - enjoy every calorie! And reach out if you have any more questions.

      Reply
  4. Cindy

    March 10, 2019 at 3:53 am

    5 stars
    OK, i'm gonna try this. Last time I made it from scratch I had chunks of butter leftover in the dough... although still tasted good

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      March 10, 2019 at 8:26 am

      Wait till they are pea sized, then add that bit of water and watch the magic happen!

      Reply
  5. Shiho

    March 10, 2019 at 3:06 am

    5 stars
    This is very informative and helpful for a dammie like me. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      March 10, 2019 at 8:23 am

      Haha - Glad to be of service!!!

      Reply
  6. Jenni

    March 09, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    So much great information here, Beth! This is a great one-stop reference post for all things pie dough!

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      March 10, 2019 at 8:22 am

      Not that the queen of desperation pies and all things baking and pastry needs any help!!!

      Reply
  7. Sandi

    March 09, 2019 at 11:33 am

    5 stars
    I love how you break it all down step by step...thank you so much for this!!

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      March 09, 2019 at 11:38 am

      I learned from the best :-). Glad you find it helpful!

      Reply
  8. sharna

    March 09, 2019 at 9:08 am

    after struggling for so long to create really tasty flaky pie crust, an accident was a big help.The recipe called for 2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp cider vinegar. Due to my unsteady hand it ended up being 1 tbsp water and 2 cider vinegar.
    Lovely! Delicious flak crust.
    I also learned that before chilling the dough I form it into 2 discs wrap and chill which makes the dough so much easier to roll out.

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      March 09, 2019 at 11:04 am

      Yes to all of the above! I've heard vinegar or vodka can be a great addition. So glad you found your formula. And thanks for sharing the great tips!

      Reply
  9. Laura

    March 09, 2019 at 9:05 am

    Such great tips, Beth! I go between my olive oil pie crust recipe and a butter based one. But even after making a few pies, I still get little doughaphobic when I'm about to make and bake a pie! Your tips should help me the next time I break out the pie pans!

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      March 09, 2019 at 11:02 am

      Thanks Laura - I need to try your olive oil recipe. I made an olive oil crust a couple weekends ago for a chicken pot pie and it wasn't great. But I know it could be with a good recipe!

      Reply
  10. Noelle

    February 15, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing, made making pie very easy! Thank you

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      February 15, 2019 at 2:56 pm

      It's my pleasure - I love helping people feel comfortable in the kitchen!

      Reply
  11. Justine

    February 15, 2019 at 10:51 am

    5 stars
    These are really helpful tips! I've never felt like making pie crust was hard, per se....but sometimes when I make it, it comes out really well and other times not so much, lol. This is going to be really useful!

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      February 15, 2019 at 11:35 am

      You know it really isn't hard - but in our minds we make it so don't we?

      Reply
  12. Sandi

    February 14, 2019 at 4:18 pm

    5 stars
    I love the title of this post...it describes me to a T. Your tips are so helpful, I can't wait to give this a try.

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      February 15, 2019 at 11:34 am

      Thx Sandi! We are just 2 peas in a pod!!

      Reply
  13. Jennifer Kular

    November 22, 2018 at 6:58 am

    Amazing! Thank you very much! I will let you know how I get on.

    Reply
  14. Jennifer Kular

    November 22, 2018 at 6:30 am

    Thanks very much, Beth! I appreciate the recipe.

    If I am using that dough to make an apple pie - I really really don't have to blind bake it?

    Happy Thanksgiving,
    Jennifer

    Reply
    • Beth Lee

      November 22, 2018 at 6:34 am

      Kate McDermott is a pie expert and my daughter has made this particular pie w great success - doesn't call for pre-baking crust: https://artofthepie.com/art-of-the-apple-pie/

      Reply
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Beth
Hi! I’m Beth Lee. In 2010, I realized I prefer pita chips to memory chips and started this blog. My family is a mix of Jewish/Hawaiian/Korean heritage and my food reflects our diversity. My virtual kitchen is always open. Let’s cook together!  See all my recipes...

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