Jose’s Best Pie Crust Recipe

We have tested tons of pie crust recipes, ranging from recipes that use half-Crisco/half-butter to barely folded all-butter crusts, and even those with vodka. Although we hate to give into celebrity-fawning, Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisee turns out to be Jose’s favorite.

So, we come full circle. From Martha and Anne Willan kitchen-shaming us as we prepared for an over-the-top holiday meal to what many people just pick up in the freezer section: the humble pie crust.

Ingredients

  • 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 6 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
  • 4 grams (1 teaspoon) sugar
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Preparation

  1. Cut your butter into small cubes (about 32 cubes per stick of butter) and place in the freezer.
  1. Add flour, salt, and sugar to food processor bowl. Pulse a few times to mix together.
  2. Drop frozen butter into the processor bowl and mix until the mixture resembles wet sand or corn meal. Usually less than 10 seconds.
  3. Add ice water through the processor feed tube in a small stream. Pulse JUST until the dough holds together. About 15 seconds – but definitely not more than 30 seconds.
  4. You may not use the full 1/2 cup of water – or you may need a little more – depending on your flour, the weather, and the temperature of your kitchen. You just want enough water to pull the dough together but not enough to make the dough sticky.
  1. Spread a little flour onto the countertop and knead the dough for about 10 seconds. This will ensure everything is mixed evenly.
  1. Divide into two approximately equal balls.
  2. If you are using immediately, flatten each ball into a disc about 1″ thick, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

If you are making only a single-crust pie (or just making crusts for later), wrap flattened discs tightly in a double-layer of plastic wrap, tuck into a zipper-lock freezer bag. Dough keeps in most frost-free freezers for about a month.