Flaky Pie Crust

• servings: 1x 9" pie
• active time: 45 minutes
• total time: 1.5 hours (+ overnight)

Ingredients

208 g all purpose flour (1⅔ cups)

140 g chilled unsalted butter, sliced ½” thick (10 tbsp)

56 g chilled cream cheese, cut into 1” pieces (2 oz)

60 g ice water (¼ cup)

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp baking powder

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder until well combined. Add the cream cheese pieces and rub into the dry ingredients with your fingers until fully incorporated.

Add the pieces of chilled butter, and toss them to coat them in flour. Smash each of them with your fingers into smaller, flatter pieces. We’re looking for a shaggy dough here.

Make a well in the center and pour in 60 g ice water (¼ cup). Toss it together with a fork or your hands, then knead in the bowl a couple of times to bring everything together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface, and add a little flour to the top of the dough. Roll out into a ½” thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half, rotate 90°, then fold in half again. Roll out again to a ½” thick rectangle again and repeat this process one more time, adding flour as needed. After 2 total turns, pat the dough into the shape of a ½” thick disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, ideally 12 hours. (At this point, you could wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for ~1 month or so. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.)

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Unwrap and place onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a 12” circle about ⅛” thick. Brush off the excess flour and transfer to a 9” diameter pie pan. Lift edges and allow the dough to slump down into the pan, then press firmly into the bottom and sides. Trim as needed, leaving about 1” overhang. Fold the overhang onto itself to create a thicker section, then press firmly to seal. Crimp edges if desired, then chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

To blind bake, preheat your oven to 375 F with a baking sheet in the lower half of the oven (large enough to fit your pie pan). Remove the pie crust from the fridge and put parchment paper on top to cover. It helps to crumple the parchment then form it into the shape you want. Add pie weights or dried beans on top of the parchment, filling to the edges. Bake until the edges are golden brown and bottom is opaque, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 F. Remove the weights and parchment paper, and bake a further 12 minutes or so, until evenly golden brown.

From here, you let it cool on the counter and then use it to bake the pie of your choice.

Notes

A fairly simple recipe for a buttery and flaky pie crust that can be used with whatever fillings you want, sweet or savory. Blind baking the crust allows it to better handle wet filling. There’s no special equipment needed here either.