A pie crust for people who are afraid of pie crust (2024)
There’s not a lot I’m afraid of. Snakes, clowns, needles, tripping while hiking and falling off a cliff — usual stuff. In the kitchen, I’m terrified that I’ll forget about proofing bread dough or leave a cake in the oven without a timer. But pie crust, one of the most fear-inducing recipes around, has never made me blink. That’s because I have this method for melted butter pie crust up my sleeve — and I bet it’ll help you cross pie off your fear list, too.
In the Test Kitchen, we often talk about why there is so much anxiety around making pie crust, and how we can empower bakers to overcome their fears and make more pie.We can’t stand next to everyone in their kitchens and whisper “You’re doing great! Keep going!”, but we can develop a recipe to expel their ever-common pie crust fears. Which led to this new method: a pie crust made with meltedbutter instead of cold. Let’s flip the script on everything you thought you knew about pie crust with an easy method that anyone can master.
Accessibility and approachability were top of mind when I set out to develop this recipe — I wanted to simplify the method to eliminate complicated steps and techniques. Have you ever made a crumble topping? You can make this pie crust. Ever pressed a graham cracker crust into a pan? You can make this pie crust. Don’t have a surface big enough to roll out a pie crust? Hate your rolling pin? Don’t own a rolling pin? You can make this pie crust!
Photography by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
The biggest benefit of making a melted butter pie crust is that it’s quick and super easy. When you make a melted butter pie crust, you’ll trade flaky (and sometimes finicky) layers for the quick convenience of mixing dry ingredients together in a bowl, stirring in melted butter and some water, mixing until crumbs form, then pressing it directly into a pie pan. No need to fret about making sure your butter and water (and flour, and ambient kitchen temperature, and mixing bowl, and hands, etc.) are cold. No need to chill the crust before rolling. No need to worry about the crust cracking when rolling it out — actually, you don’t have to roll it at all. And no need to worry about transferring the crust to the pan in one piece.
Let’s be clear and set some expectations: A pie crust made with melted butter will be different than a pie crust made with cold butter. Not better, not worse; just different. With cold butter, your pie crust will be light and flaky (that’s because as the cold butter melts in the oven, it produces steam that creates flaky layers). With melted butter, your pie crust will be thicker, sturdier, and reminiscent of shortbread cookies: tender, buttery, and flavorful. A melted butter pie crust is a close cousin to Hot Water Pastry, but with some added sugar (for flavor) and a touch of baking powder (for a lighter texture).
Let’s talk about another critical factor: flavor! Butter remains a prominent flavor here; meanwhile, White Whole Wheat Flour helps keep the crust tender while also adding another layer of flavor. A touch of cinnamon enhances the flavor of the whole grains, but you can also play around and replace the cinnamon with other spices that would complement your fillings. Apples and cardamom, cherries and black pepper, peaches and ginger. Go wild!
Photography by Danielle Sykes; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
What to bake with melted butter pie crust
A pie crust made with melted butter will be sturdy without being tough, and while it might be too heavy to pair with a cream or meringue pie, it’s perfect for any type of fruit pie. Even when paired with the juiciest of fruits, this cookie-like crust is a strong vehicle, ensuring you get a clean slice of pie that doesn’t fall apart. That’s why it’s perfect for this Fast Summer Berry Pie, a recipe that will have pie on your table in just two hours, start to finish.
I know I’ll be busy making strawberry peach pies all summer long and am excited to pair this crust with pecan pie filling come fall. Tell me — what kind of pie will you bake first?
Cover photo by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
The Author
About Molly Marzalek-Kelly
Born and raised in Vermont, Molly loves nothing more than keeping her friends, family, and community well-fed. She whole-heartedly agrees with the sentiment that there’s no greater feeling than giving something you made with love to someone you love. At any given time, she always has a few weeks’ wo...
The number one tip most pie dough recipes will emphasize is using cold butter, cold water, cold hands—really cold everything. The colder the butter (or shortening) stays in the dough, the more it can stay self-contained until it hits the oven, creating bigger pockets of air.
Before you start making the dough, fill a glass with ice and water. Add the ice water gradually to the dough, about one tablespoon or so at a time, and stop when the dough is just moist enough to hold together when a handful is squeezed.
In Disney's "Mary Poppins", the titular character discusses that a certain promise made is a pie crust promise. "Easily made, easily broken." New Year's Resolutions are like that.
The pros: Butter has the best flavor. A butter pie crust forms light, lofty, flaky layers while it bakes. The flakiness comes partially from the water content of butter, which evaporates as the pie bakes and turns to steam, separating and puffing up the layers in dough.
Though the science is sketchy, a few professional pie bakers swear that it improves the texture of the crust, and they wouldn't dream of making pie dough without it. (Others swear by similarly acidic ingredients like lemon juice.) The acidic properties of vinegar inhibit gluten, some will say.
Yes, you can leave out the sugar but I recommend keeping at least one tablespoon of sugar in the recipe. Primarily because sugar helps to give your pie dough that beautiful golden color. I have experimented with leaving sugar out entirely and find the result somewhat pale.
Be sure to prick the bottom and side of the pastry with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming, then bake until it's light brown—how long to bake a pie crust will vary by oven, but it's usually about 8 to 10 minutes.
The most important rule when making pie crust is to keep your ingredients as cold as possible. This includes using cold butter, shortening, and ice-cold water. This ensures a perfectly flaky crust because the butter remains in solid form in the dough and then evaporates into the layers of dough while baking.
Egg wash is a mix of beaten whole egg and water (or milk or cream), which is used to brush onto the top of baked goods before baking. The purpose of egg wash is to provide a nice golden brown, shiny finish on your baking. I use this egg wash for pie crust, or this also makes a great egg wash for bread recipes.
Sometimes you can see leakage of butter from the crust around the edge of your pie dish. A little leakage is fine, but if you find that you are getting pools of butter, it is likely that you have not incorporated the butter well enough. Pie dough is cracking when you go to roll it out.
One mistake novice pie bakers make is letting the raw pie crust come to room temperature, which can ruin its flaky texture. "Make sure to refrigerate your pie crust before baking it off," Sarah Fennel says.
Egg: This makes the dough more pliable and easy to roll out. Eggs also make the crust more compact. Acid and Alcohol: Both acid and alcohol tenderize pie dough, make it easier to roll out, and prevent it from shrinking in your pan.
A 2012 review by the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent non-profit organization, found that reducing or replacing saturated fat with other healthy fats reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by 14 percent (Hooper 2012).
Traditionally, what you're looking for in a pie crust are three basic things: you want it to be fully cooked through, without any doughiness between the filling and the bottom crust, you want the crust to be light and flaky with discernible layers, and, of course, you want there to be a rich, buttery flavor.
Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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