I Asked 5 Pro Bakers How to Make the Flakiest Pie Crust, and Here’s the Key to Getting It Right

Sure, you could outsource the baking this year and purchase a pre-made pie or start with a store-bought pie crust for the holidays. And many of us do, including several members of the Allrecipes team. However, this could also be the year when we finally overcome our pastry fears once and for all, and give homemade pie crust a try.

“The biggest mistake home bakers tend to make is quitting before they even start, usually because they're afraid to do it wrong. But it's pie, and no matter what, it's going to be delicious and special, even if it's not picture perfect," says Kristen Daily, owner and head baker for Pie Bird Pies in Des Moines, Iowa. She bakes dozens of full pies, hand pies, and more each week for her fans and private events.

To help us overcome the intimidation of baking and to ensure we end up with beautifully flaky, tender crusts every time, we tapped five pie experts to share their top tips.

Our Panel of Pie Baking Experts

• Natasha Burton, owner of Mixed Fillings Pie Shop in Jacksonville, Florida
• Kristen Daily, owner and head baker for Pie Bird Pies in Des Moines, Iowa
• Lynn Echeverria, co-owner of Ruby's Bakery and Cafe in Lodi, California
• Amy Emberling, managing partner at Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Clarice Lam, a New York City-based pastry chef and the author of "Breaking Bao"

What Makes Pie Crust Flaky?

Picture a flaky, golden croissant. This treat earns its flaky texture from butter, which gets folded into the dough over and over to produce thin, crispy layers. The flaky texture of pie crust is pretty similar, only way less fussy.

To make pie crust, chunks of butter—though other fats like shortening or lard can also be used—are worked into the flour, then it gets hydrated with cold water. When the fat melts during baking, it emits steam that creates little air pockets that inspire the layers of dough to separate. “These layers are what we experience as flaky or flakes of dough,” Emberling says.

According to Emberling, tough pie doughs tend to have two causes: Incorrect hydration and overmixing. Both will yield tough, dense, and/or crumbly crusts, says Lam.

If the fat is overworked, there won’t be distinctive pieces that can melt and separate into layers, resulting in what bakers call a shortcrust. This means the finished pastry ends up being soft and crumbly. To prevent this from happening, follow these 5 tips and you are sure to hit that sweet spot every time yourself.

Tips for the Flakiest Pie Crust Ever

Start With Quality Ingredients

The recipe for homemade pastry is easy: flour, water, salt, fat, and maybe sugar. The most important of all of these is butter. According to Daily, “There’s nothing better than a rich, buttery pie crust. And in my opinion and experience, pie lives or dies by the crust. I like to use grass-fed European, or European-style butter, such as Kerrygold. Plus, it has a higher butterfat content, making it easier to laminate in the dough, which means a flakier crust.”

Wondering if you should use salted or unsalted butter? Both work fine, so this comes down to personal preference. Daily continues, “Some bakers use unsalted butter because it gives you more control over how salty your recipe is. But I think pie is pretty forgiving, and I’m a salt lover, so salted butter is for me!”

There's no need to get fancy with the flour either. Echeverria explains, “Proteins in the flour form gluten in your dough. You don't want to use flour that contains too much protein like bread flour, or too little protein like pastry flour. A basic all-purpose flour works best."

Chill Out

Now that you have your ingredients, it’s vital to add them in the correct conditions. All five pros promote using ice water, chilled butter, and adding the water slowly.

If the butter hasn't been properly chilled or you are working in a warm environment, the fat could potentially emulsify with the flour, preventing air pockets from forming in the dough. To avoid this, try freezing your flour, sugar, and butter, Lam advises. “The colder the ingredients, the flakier the crust. This is key."

Pay Attention to How Much Water You Use

As you add the ice water, aim for moderation. Using water sparingly will keep the dough light, Lam tells us. Adding too much can make it leathery. 

“When adding water, less is more, and it’s gotta be ice cold,” explains Burton. “You don’t want to drown your dough, just sprinkle in a tablespoon at a time and mix gently until it just comes together. The goal is to hydrate the dough without turning it into a sticky mess. The cold water also helps keep your warm hands from melting the butter. Just remember, overhydration is the enemy of flakiness.”

If you must add more water than the recipe calls for, try misting the mixture with a spray bottle as you are rolling it for even, minimal hydration. 

“But honestly, if it were me, I'd simply quit fighting the dry, crumbly dough," Dailey concedes. "Cut it into strips or punch it out with a cookie cutter, sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar, bake it, and enjoy a mountain of pie scraps like I used to make as a kid with my mom. Then, I’d take a break and make another batch of dough, knowing that I need to add a bit more ice water this time—but not too much.”

Avoid Overmixing

“Gluten is developed by adding liquid to flour and mixing it. The more you handle it, the more developed the gluten strands become, and the tougher or stronger the dough will feel,” Emberling advises.

With this in mind, it’s best to combine the dry ingredients—flour, salt, and a little sugar—in a bowl, then toss 1-inch chunks of cold butter in this flour blend until the butter is fully coated. Then work the butter into the dough using either a pastry blender or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

Work the butter pieces in until you reach one of these stages:

• The flour looks creamy yellow
• You can squeeze the dough in your hand and it holds together
• The butter pieces are made up of pea, almond, and cherry-sized pieces

“Once the butters are in the dough, use a technique that the French call ‘frissage.’ At Zingerman’s, we simply call it ‘schmearing,’ because that’s what you do: Use the heel of your hand and schmear the dough bit by bit across your work area,” Emberling says. “Then gather it back up into a disc. It will make thin layers of dough and butter which, when baked, will be flaky and tender.”

At this point, take a pulse check. The dough shouldn’t look uniform in texture or color. If it does, the butter is probably overworked. Instead, you should be able to spot pieces of butter in the dough.

"Often, these ‘imperfections’ bake away in the oven and even if they don't, the texture of an imperfect crust will be better than one of a perfect looking crust that you’ve rolled several times,” says Emberling.

Let It Rest

Before rolling out the dough onto a baking dish, the final step is to let the pastry rest and chill once more. For best results, Lam advises chilling the dough for 45 minutes before rolling it out, then after you've rolled it onto the dish, chill for another 15 minutes before baking.

"And as you're rolling the crust, keep it chill—pop the dough in the fridge as you need to. It's a great moment for you to take a little breather, too,” Daily says.

If the dough doesn’t rest and chill properly, it will shrink when you roll it out or during baking. Skipping chilling could also result in the dough melting too quickly, creating pools of fat on top of the crust.

Our panel of pastry pros admit this might sound like a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it will start to feel natural. So, keep these tips in mind, tie on your apron, and then head on over to our pie crust how-to for step-by-step guidance on your pie dough journey. Bear in mind, you might consider blind baking the crust, especially if you're making a pie with a juicy filling. As Daily advises, "Is it [the pie] a juicy mess, or does the crust slump? Who cares! I bet it's delicious. Just remember, everything takes practice, and each pie you make will be better than the one before.”

And of course, we hope you have the ice cream ready!