A homemade pie crust is very easy to prepare, and most recipes call for very similar basic ingredients: flour, butter or lard (or shortening, like Crisco, which isn’t “real”), salt, possibly a sweetener, and water.
8TBunsalted buttercubed and chilled, 1/2 cup // 110g
3TBcold water
1egg yolkThe egg should be taken directly from the fridge before separating so it's cold.
Instructions
First, prepare the butter, water, and egg yolk. Cube the butter and then place the cubes in the freezer. Next, whisk together the cold water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Then place the water and yolk combo in the fridge.
In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together for about 30 seconds. I use the high setting on my food processor. Use a spoon to stir the flour, which you just pulsed, to help "fluff" it and keep the flour from settling on the bottom. I know this sounds funny, but it helps with the next step...butter.
Remove the butter from the freezer. With the food processor on high, add the cubes, one or a couple at a time, through the chute. As you add the butter, the flour will begin to resemble coarse crumbs. Turn off the food processor.
Now remove the water and egg yolk mixture from the fridge. With the food processor running (I like to switch to low at this point), add the water/yolk mixture. Run the food processor until the flour comes together to form a ball. If the flour doesn't form a ball, you'll need to add 1 tablespoon of cold water. This shouldn't be necessary, but flour can differ at times, particularly if you're using volume measurement (cup versus grams).
Remove the dough from the food processor, pressing any extra stray dough pieces to the main ball of dough. Wrap the dough in a piece of parchment paper, and place it in the fridge to cool. At this time, I make my pie filling (whether it's a pumpkin pie, quiche, chicken pot pie, etc.).
After resting and chilling the dough in the fridge (about 30 minutes, or overnight), roll the dough out on the parchment paper to your desired size (to fit your baking dish). If your crust is sticking to the rolling pin or parchment paper, it may need to be chilled longer, or you can sprinkle it with a bit of flour and continue rolling. Transfer the pie crust, on the parchment paper, to your baking dish. You'll need to flip the parchment paper over so the pie crust gently releases into the pie dish. Press the pie crust into the baking dish. I like to crimp the edges of the pie crust with my fingers. Pierce the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork. This will keep large air bubbles/pockets from forming in the crust. At this point, the crust is ready to use.
If you'd like a crispy bottom crust, I recommend a par-bake before adding your filling (like a pumpkin pie filling). To do this, heat the oven to 400F. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven, add the filling, and bake according to the pie recipe.