Perfect Pie Crust

salted caramel apple pie
Perfect Pie Crust
All butter classic pate brisee.
(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.)

Prep Time: 10 minutes + at least 15 minutes for freezing ingredients + at least 1 hour for chilling dough
Bake Time: Depends on your recipe

Yield: Makes enough for one double-crust 9-inch pie, one 9-inch lattice-topped tart, or two 9-inch pies

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup chilled (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Preparation

  1. Make sure all your ingredients are thoroughly chilled before you begin. I freeze my cubes of butter the night before if I know I plan on making pie crust the next day. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl, and stir to combine.
  2. In a food processor, pulse together the cold butter and flour mixture until it is the texture of cornmeal. A few pea-size pieces of butter is ok. (If using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture by pressing down quickly, using as few strokes as possible.)
  3. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water and pulse again until the dough forms a ball. (If doing by hand, gather the dough and gently press into a ball.) It should come together loosely; if not, add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Divide dough in half; place each on plastic wrap. Flatten into disks. Wrap tightly; refrigerate 1 hour or overnight. ***Make-Ahead Note: The pie dough can be made ahead of time, wrapped plastic wrap, and kept in the fridge for up to five days. Or it can be made way in advance, frozen, and then placed in the fridge to defrost five days before using.
  4. Remove disks from refrigerator. Between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper, press rolling pin gently all over dough to flatten it slightly. Working from the center to the edge in all directions, roll out dough into a round about 3 inches larger than the pie plate.
  5. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin; lift and center it over the pie plate. Gently unroll the dough over the plate, leaving an even amount of overhang around the perimeter. Fill pie, assemble top crust, and cut away the excess overhang. Flute the edge of the crust using the pointer finger of one hand and the thumb and pointer of the other hand.
  6. Bake according to your recipe.