Whether you’ve never made pie crust or just need to hone your skills, you’ve come to the right place.

We’ll show you how to make a pie crust step-by-step, with plenty of tips along the way. You’ll learn how to make pie dough, how to roll it, and how to put it in a pie pan. If you’re looking for how to make and pre-baked a pie crust (blind bread), check out How to Pre-Bake a Pie Crust.

1- Cut the fat into flour
Pie Crust – 1-CutFatIntoFlor
If you’ve ever made cookies, scones, or quick bread, you know that the way you combine the ingredients can greatly affect the end result. Excessive mixing often results in a difficult product. Pie dough is no different – the less you handle it, the better the result. Pancake batter recipes use the “rub” mixing method to incorporate the fat into the dry ingredients. Whether you use a food processor, pastry mixer, or table knives, the goal is to cut the cooled fat — butter or shortening — into small pieces and disperse them throughout the flour, rather than mixing the shortening and flour into a smooth batter.

2 – Add cold water

Pie Crust – 2-AddWater
After adding the fat to the dry ingredients, the next step is to add the water. Like lard, the water should be ice cold. Before you begin make dough, fill a glass with ice & water. Gradually add ice water to the dough, about one tablespoon or so at a time, stopping when the dough is wet enough to hold together when squeezing a handful. Instead of flipping the dough, use a table fork to push and skew the dough, rubbing it against the side of the bowl—this keeps it soft.

3 – Roll the dough

Pie Dough – 3 Rolls
Before rolling the dough, put it in the fridge for at least an hour to rest. This allows the dough enough time for the fat to firm up a bit and for the gluten to relax. Refrigerated dough is also easier to roll and less likely to stick when rolled. To keep the dough very cool and easy to work with, you can use marble pastry sheets and rolling pins. Be sure to shake off the work surface, roll the dough, and top the dough very lightly with flour before rolling the dough. Rolling in all instructions with even, steady pressure to making a circle large . Give the dough a quarter turn periodically to keep it even and prevent sticking.

4 – Transfer the dough to the pan

Pie Crust – 4-Transfertopan
When transferring the rolled dough to a pie pan, avoid pulling or ripping it. One way to do this is to loosely fold the dough in half. Lift the folded dough with both hands, and place it on one side of the pan, carefully unrolling the dough.

5 – Put the dough in the pan

Crust Pie – 5 Fett Dough
Gently lift the edges of the dough just enough to smooth it into the corners of the pan. Adjust the position of the dough if needed so that the top extends evenly around the edge. Utilize your fingertips or a little ball of scrapping dough to sweetly push dough TO place. For a one-crust pie, trim off any excess dough, leaving an inch hanging around the pie and tucking the back under the crust. Place the lined pan in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes for another convenience before baking or stuffing. When you’re working on pie dough, always give the gluten time to relax before moving on to the next step.

6 – Veneer finish

Pie Crust – 6-FinishCrust
Pressing or pressing a decorative edge into the edge of a single-crust pie prevents the dough from sliding down into the pan as it bakes. The classic way to “flute” a pie is to press the dough between the index finger and thumb of one hand on the inside edge and the index finger of the other hand on the outside edge to make a scalloped edge.

When making a double-crust pie, it is important to seal the edge to prevent the top and bottom crusts from separating while the pie is baking. Simply clean the edge of the bottom crust with water, milk, or eggs before putting the top crust in place. Cut off the excess dough from the top and bottom layers and seal the crust together by pressing the dough with the teeth of a fork or the edges of the edges together using your fingertips. The final step for a double crust pie is to brush the dough with egg wash for a deep golden color and shine. You can also sprinkle the washed crust with sugar before baking. The sugar will caramelize as the pancakes bake, making the crust shiny and crunchy.

Always remember to check the temperature of the dough before placing it in the oven. If it doesn’t feel cool to the touch, chill the pie in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes