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Hi friends!

I LOVE PIE!!

This wasn’t always the case, and it wasn’t until I was well into my twenties before I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t a fan of cooked fruit as a kid, and didn’t think the pastry was worth that battle….gasp! Now I know better, and it’s one of my go-to desserts. It can be a bit daunting if you’ve never made it, but I’m here to say…don’t be scared!! Even a bad pie is still usually pretty good.

Now, I am so excited to share this post with you all, as it’s been a long time coming. I’ve decided to create one cohesive spot for all my pie dough tips. This will strictly cover the dough creation process, and I hope to have a crust design post in the future that teaches you how to build a lattice, braid, and create letters, leaves, and more for a pretty pie crust! (I will link it here in the future once it goes up!!)

On that note, let’s get into it!

1) FATS - there’s much debate over which fat is the best to use. Butter, shortening, lard, vegetable oil, etc. I honestly think this comes down to personal preference and special diets. For myself, I do 50/50 butter and lard (or shortening when baking for my veggie friends). I love the flavour of butter, but do find that lard (or shortening) helps with flakiness, and the overall texture of the crust. Especially when doing a lot of intricate lattice work, etc, I find lard stands up to warm hands better than using 100% butter. That being said, I’ve used 100% butter, lard, and shortening, with great results for each.

2) FLOUR - all purpose flour is generally the most commonly used flour for pies. I’ve started using 30% or 50% spelt, rye, and buckwheat flours in my crust, and am head over heels in love with the flavour and texture they bring to the table. Spelt is probably my favourite, and gives a wonderful nuttiness and depth to the pie dough. These flours do tend to be more absorbent compared to all purpose, and you may need an extra teaspoon or two of water when working with them.

3) GLUTEN FREE - I’ve had good luck with using 1 to 1 gluten free flours for pie dough! Obviously no gluten is forming for these doughs, so they tend to be a little more crumbly than one made with regular flour. I've tested Cloud 9 Specialty Bakery’s and Bob’s Red Mill’s 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour mix. I preferred the Cloud 9 mix, and found that it actually gave me flaky layers, vs Bob’s Red Mill. Make sure to check the ingredient list if you have any other sensitivities! I’m no expert on gluten free baking, so this is as far as my experimentation has gone. I highly recommend The Bojon Gourmet if you’re looking for great gf recipes!

4) LIQUIDS - water, vodka, egg, vinegar, buttermilk. Honestly there’s no wrong answer here! I use mostly water, with a splash of vinegar. When making a bigger batch I’ll sometimes use an egg to the measuring cup before measuring the water…a la Jean Pare, but either method is fine. I’ve never used Vodka before, and many bakers love that it doesn’t encourage gluten to form as quickly - but I’ve also heard that sometimes the resulting crust is too tender (aka: not strong enough gluten bonds), and falls apart. So I don’t bother! Buttermilk will give another boost of flavour, but I never have it on hand, so I just stick with water.

5) MIXING - perhaps the most important part of the whole process. You want to mix enough to have a cohesive dough and flaky layers forming, but not too much that the gluten bonds are too strong (think kneading bread), which can leave you with a tough crust. This comes with practice! And I always say stay on the side of caution and stop mixing the dough earlier rather than later. Practice truly makes perfect!

I will be posting a full video tutorial on my instagram page, which you can find HERE (will link once it’s up!).

Or keep scrolling past the recipe to see a series of step by step photos.

pie dough

recipe: Kelsey Siemens
Yield: dough for 1 double crust pie or 2 single crust pies- not deep dish

Note: I usually double this recipe especially if creating a fancy crust with braiding/lattice/extra cut outs.
Keep extras for a single pie crust, a galette, hand pies, etc.

Pie crust ingredients

1 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon (105 mL) cold water

2 1/2 cups (313 g) all purpose flour*

1 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup (113 g) butter, cold

1/2 cup (103 g) lard (sub with shortening or butter)

Variations: Sub half the amount of all purpose flour for either spelt flour, rye flour, or buckwheat flour for a heartier crust. You may find these variations need an extra tablespoon of water to hold together.

To make the pie crust

In a liquid measuring cup, add the vinegar. Fill with cold water until you have 1/2 cup of liquid. Move the measuring cup to the freezer to chill while you prepare the rest of the dough. Every little bit helps when making pie and keeping the dough as cool as possible!

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar together until completely combined. Set aside.

On a cutting board, chop the butter and lard into ½ inch cubes. Then, add the butter and lard to the flour mixture, tossing with your hands to coat. Use a pastry cutter or simply a fork to start cutting in the fat. When about half the butter and lard is about pea sized (some will be smaller, some will be larger), move to work with your hands. Press larger pieces of butter and lard between your thumb and forefinger to create shards of fat. I like to get my hands right in there at the end to break up any remaining large pieces while avoiding cutting the other pieces too small. Once all of the fat is roughly pea-sized or in shards, move the bowl to the freezer for about 5 minutes.

Remove both the dry dough and the measuring cup with water-vinegar mixture from the freezer. Add 1/4 cup of water to the flour mixture, pouring evenly over top. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to gently mix the dough together. Once the dough is in a shaggy mass, dump onto the counter. Yes it’ll be messy! No, it won’t quite look like dough yet. Carefully gather the outside shaggy edges and crumbs up and over the top of the dough, and press down. Turn and repeat until the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems too dry and isn’t coming together, carefully add a couple more teaspoons of water-vinegar mixture as you work. Continue to fold the dough over itself, and gently press together. This helps create those flaky layers we desire. Try to work the dough as little as possible, otherwise it’ll be tough. We don’t want the dough to be perfectly smooth though, so resist the urge to add too much water. Once the dough can hold together, it’s ready to go. If you ever get tacky dough, it is likely overhydrated, so add a bit more flour and hope for the best.

Cut the dough in half, and shape each half into a disc that’s about 1-inch thick, wrap up tightly using plastic wrap (I wash and reuse mine until they wear out), or place into a small glass container with a tight fitting lid, and let rest and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling out, or preferably overnight.

tips:

I often will double this recipe, and it works well! I find this helpful when I’m planning on making intricate designs on my pie, such as lattice work, braids, and extra cut outs. There’s nothing worse than running out of dough, and I’ll keep the extra scraps for a galette later on.

This dough freezes super well! If you’re not going to use it within a week, place it in an airtight container and pop it in the freezer. It will keep for several months. Thaw in the fridge the day before you intend to use it.

I love working on a marble slab when forming my pie dough as it keeps things nice and cold. You can find them at most kitchen stores!

Useful tools (however not required):

pastry cutter (use a fork in its place)
bench scraper (helps with folding, lifting the dough off the table, and scraping off flour/water that hardens on your table - it’s a lifesaver)
marble slab (helps keeps things nice and cold - most kitchen stores will carry them!)