Handmade Basic Pie Dough (Big Batch)

By Rebecca St. Clair

If you’ve never made handmade basic pie dough before, or if you are nervous that pie dough is something a little too complicated to make at home, then this is the recipe for you!

This pie dough is extremely easy to make, at home, with no special equipment at all! You can, of course, use special equipment to make things a little faster but they are 100% not needed!

This handmade basic pie dough is tender, buttery, and flaky. The perfect pie dough for all of your sweet dessert pies or any savoury meal, quiche, or meat pies!

This dough is extremely versatile and will make enough for 3 full pastry topped pies! Pie dough freezes extremely well so I always make enough to freeze for later!

How to store pie dough

Since this is a big batch of handmade basic pie dough, you might have some leftover that you’ll want to store away.

Fridge

Not only can you store pie dough in the fridge, pie dough needs to chill for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.

To store your handmade basic pie dough in the fridge,

• Wrap the dough completely in plastic wrap
• Store in the fridge for up to 3 days
• Allow the dough to sit out for 30 minutes before rolling it out

Freezer

Pie dough freezes extremely well when stored correctly,

• Wrap the dough completely in plastic wrap
• Place in an airtight container or freezer bag
• Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to make pie dough by hand

To make handmade basic pie dough all you need is a bowl and your hands. There are some other helpful things that you can use but are not necessary, like a spoon or a pastry blender. If you want to make this pie dough with a machine, a food processor or stand mixer can be used.

To make the basic pie dough completely by hand,

• Add the ingredients to a large bowl.
• Rub the butter and flour together between your fingertips. This will break up the butter into smaller bits.
• Once you have a course meal consistency, squish and press the dough together with you hands.
• When it starts to hold together, tip it out onto the counter and press and fold the dough over onto itself a few times. This will encourage flaky layers.
• Form into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap.
• Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

How to make basic pie dough in a food processor

If you have a food processor, you can make pie dough in no time, with very little effort on your part.

• Place the flour and butter into the bowl of the processor and pulse a few times to mix in the butter
• With the processor on low, add in the other ingredients
• Stop the machine as soon as the dough clumps together
• Shape into a few discs and cover with plastic wrap
• Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

How to make handmade basic pie dough soft

Pie dough chilled straight from the fridge is almost impossible to roll out. The butter in the dough will be extremely hard and will cause the dough to split and crack.

It is important to soften the pie dough first, before rolling it out. Pull the dough out of the fridge 30 minutes before rolling. This should be the perfect consistency of firm but pliable and rolling out the dough will be a breeze!

How to use leftover basic pie dough

There are so many uses for pie dough, which makes this an extremely versatile recipe with endless variations!

Try some of these great options if you are looking for some sweet, savoury, or alternative pie dough inspirations!

Easy Appetizer – Cheese Straws

Classic Thick Canadian Butter Tarts

From Scratch Honey Apple Pie

The Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Classic Asparagus and Swiss Quiche

What makes pie dough flaky?

Adding acid to pie dough

To make your pie dough flaky and melt in your mouth a great option is to add an acid like vinegar or lemon juice while you are mixing the dough.

The acid will tenderize the gluten strands causing the protein in the flour to relax. This will help make that extra flaky pastry. This will also help the pastry keep it’s nice bright colour if you need to store it in the fridge for a few days prior to baking.

Laminating pie dough

Laminating dough is what you do to build up flaky layers in things like puff pastry. You can do a similar process with pie dough.

Once the dough is holding together, fold it over on itself a few times to encourage those buttery layers to form before shaping into the final disk.

How to stop pie dough from shrinking

This type of pie dough will shrink slightly when it bakes. While it is not possible to stop any change in the dough while it bakes. There are things you can do to ensure that your pie shrinks as little as possible!

Not over working the dough is key for a pie dough that does not shrink. Overworked dough can start to develop gluten and become stretchy, which will give the dough that elastic quality that will often cause the dough to shrink.

Adding the acid in this recipe also helps the gluten relax and will stop the pie dough from shrinking.

Why add vinegar to pie dough

Vinegar or lemon juice is an acid. This helps the pastry come out beautifully flaky when baked. The acid relaxes the protein in the flour, while you are making the pie dough.

If you are making this dough in advance and storing for a few days, the vinegar will also stop the dough from oxidizing and turning a duller, greyish colour.

How to make handmade basic pie dough

This recipe will be enough to make 3 double pie crusts! Perfect for holiday baking!

Ingredients

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1,375 g

1 ½ teaspoons salt 7 ml

1 teaspoon baking powder 5 ml

3 Tablespoons brown sugar 37 g

2 cups cold butter, cubed 450 g

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon vinegar 15 ml

2/3 – 3/4 cups cold water 160 ml – 175 ml

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar.
2. Cut the cold butter into cubes (about 1 cm x 1 cm).

3. Toss the butter into the dry mixture to coat (this helps the pieces not stick back together).

4. Using your finger tips (or a pastry blender) rub the butter into the flour, breaking it up into smaller pieces.

5. When the mixture resembles a course oatmeal, add in the beaten egg, vinegar, and about half of the water.

6. Mix with your hands.

7. Add all or part of the water, as needed, until the dough starts to hold together.

8. Tip the dough out onto the counter and press and squeeze it together.

9. Form into 6 disks and wrap each in plastic wrap.

10. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour. After that they are ready to use in your favourite recipes!

craving simple pie recipes? Try these! The Best Old-Fashioned Apple Pie, The Perfect Pumpkin Pie, Classic Thick Canadian Butter Tarts, The Best Old-Fashioned Raspberry Mini Tarts

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