Cook's Illustrated's pie crust recipe has become my favorite. Click here to go directly to the recipe. I also have additional variations below.
In the meantime I recently ran across an article which included links to videos and articles on making pie crust. I've been making pie crust for decades but these were still informative, here they are.
This video is for making pie crust dough in a food processor, by Sarah Carey. Sarah is really quite charming and the video is great. I use a food processor and was rather proud to find out that her method is almost identical to mine and the final product looks the same, but she simplified some steps that's an improvement over my method.
This next video is tips on how to roll out pie dough into a circle. That's oddly specific but in fact rolling it out and not ending up with an oval or some weird irregular shape can be a challenge.
This last link is not a video but an article on the famous Serious Eats website by the equally famous J. Kenji López-Alt. If you haven't heard of him or the website, first of all welcome to planet Earth! Enjoy your stay! Serious Eats and J Kenji take a rigorous science-based approach to analyzing and developing recipes and the resulting articles are often quite long, fairly science-y, and usually fascinating. This particular article provides detail on the second pie crust recipe I have below.
Anyway this recipe is a completely different way to make pie dough. It's based on the idea that incorporating flour and butter results in pockets of butter surrounded by flour, and then when you add water it combines with the flour to form sheets of gluten that separate the layers and create the flakiness. However, when adding water the flour on the surface of the pocket of butter actually forms a flour-butter paste and it is this paste that creates the layers (you have to read the article). So in this method of making pie crust he starts with only 2/3s of the flour and then processes the butter until all the dry flour is gone and the dough begins to clump. This in effect creates a bowl full of that flour-butter "paste" described above. He then adds the remaining flour and uses very short pulses to break up the paste into little pockets of paste (instead of pockets of butter) coated with flour. From there he proceeds as normal, dumping the dough into a bowl and adding in just enough water to bring it together (he's not a fan of using the food processor to add in the water). What makes this interesting: the normal way of making pie crust results in a pastry that, when rolled out, has visible spots of butter. This method has no visible spots of butter, the dough is completely uniform in appearance. No I haven't tried this yet but I think I will someday.
Pie Crust Recipe
Here is my current go-to recipe. It's unique compared to others I've used in that it has a much higher ratio of fat to flour. BTW, as recommended by almost everyone including Cook's Illustrated, I always weigh flour. However, Cook's Illustrated sloppy recipe calls for "12-1/2 oz of flour" in the ingredients list but then in Step 1 says "Process 1-1/2 cups flour...". Idiots. I've done the math and changed the ingredients and instructions to reflect the split weights.
The recipe uses vodka for some of the liquid, see note below. I keep vodka in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
7.5 oz (1-1/2 cups) PLUS 5 oz (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbls. sugar
12 tbls. unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4 inch slices
8 tbls all-vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka, cold
1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
1. Process 7.5 oz (1 1/2 cups) flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 5 oz (1 cup) flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
NOTE:
Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute extra water. The alcohol is key to our recipe; if you don't have vodka on hand, you can use another 80 proof liquor. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (1/4 cup must be used to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter).
Serious Eats Pie Crust Recipe
This is the recipe from the Serious Eats article I mentioned above. It is a completely different way to make pie dough. They start with the observation that flaky pie crust results from first incorporating flour and butter, resulting in pockets of butter surrounded by flour, and then when you add water it combines with the flour to form sheets of gluten that separate the layers and create the flakiness. However, when adding water the flour on the surface of the pocket of butter actually forms a flour-butter paste and it is this paste that creates the layers (you have to read the article). So in this method of making pie crust he starts with only 2/3s of the flour and then processes the butter until all the dry flour is gone and the dough begins to clump. This in effect creates a bowl full of that flour-butter "paste" described above. He then adds the remaining flour and uses very short pulses to break up the paste into little pockets of paste (instead of pockets of butter) coated with flour. From there he proceeds as normal, dumping the dough into a bowl and adding in just enough water to bring it together (he's not a fan of using the food processor to add in the water). What makes this interesting: the normal way of making pie crust results in a pastry that, when rolled out, has visible spots of butter. This method has no visible spots of butter, the dough is completely uniform in appearance. No I haven't tried this yet but I think I will someday.
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups (12.5 ounces; 350g) all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons (5g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use same weight or half as much by volume
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces; 280g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see note)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces; 85ml) cold water
Instructions
1. Combine two thirds of flour with sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse twice to incorporate. Spread butter slices evenly over surface. Pulse until no dry flour remains and dough just begins to collect in clumps, about 25 short pulses. Use a rubber spatula to spread the dough evenly around the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle with remaining flour and pulse until dough is just barely broken up, about 5 short pulses. Transfer dough to a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle with water. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold and press dough until it comes together into a ball. Divide ball in half. Form each half into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling and baking.
3. When ready to shape the dough, pull out one ball, set it on a well-floured work surface, and sprinkle with more flour. Use a tapered rolling pin to start rolling the dough out into a circle, lifting the dough and rotating it while rolling to achieve an even shape. Continue rolling, changing the angle of your rolling pin as you go to get an even shape and thickness. The finished dough should overhang your pie plate by an inch or two.
4. Pick up the dough by carefully rolling it around your rolling pin, using your bench scraper to help lift it off the work surface. Unroll it over a pie plate. Gently lift and fit the dough into the pie plate, getting down into the corners.
5. For a single-crusted pie, use a pair of scissors to trim the dough so that it overhangs the edge by 1/2 inch all around. For a double-crusted pie, at this stage, fill it and drape your second round of pie dough over the top. Trim it to a 1/2-inch overhang along with the lower crust. Either way, tuck the overhanging edge(s) under itself all the way around the pie.
6. Flute the edges of the pie crust using the forefinger of one hand and the thumb and forefinger of the other. The single-crust pie shell is ready to be blind-baked or filled. For a double-crusted pie, brush with an egg white, sprinkle with sugar, and cut vent holes in the top with a sharp knife before baking.
America's Test Kitchen Lemony Pie Crust (Recipe extract)
I said recipe extract because this pie crust is part of their recipe for Lavender Creme Brulee Pie. They liked the lemony flavor added to the pie crust. I'm not really sure about lavender-flavored creme brulee but it does seem like lemon pie crust could be useful in some other recipes. Also, their method for the pie crust is very similar to the Serious Eats method I described above.
This is a single-crust pie dough recipe, and I've included the instructions for blind-baking the crust.
Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup ice water, divided
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Instructions
1. Grate 2 tablespoons butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons butter into ½-inch cubes.
2. Pulse 3/4 cup flour, sugar, grated lemon zest, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
3. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
4. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
5. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake crust until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack.