Citric Acid Free All-Butter Pie Crust
A truly great pie starts with the crust, and this one delivers that perfectly flaky, golden, melt-in-your-mouth base that makes every filling shine. For anyone navigating a citric acid sensitivity, store-bought pie crusts and pre-made doughs can be a minefield — preservatives and additives sneak into the ingredient lists more often than you'd expect. This recipe keeps things beautifully simple: just flour, salt, sugar, cold unsalted butter, and ice water. Nothing hidden, nothing unnecessary. The secret to the flakiness is keeping that butter ice-cold and leaving some pea-sized pieces intact as you work it into the flour — those little butter pockets are what create those gorgeous layers when the crust bakes. A short rest in the refrigerator lets the gluten relax and the butter firm back up, so rolling it out is smooth and easy. The result is a tender, rich crust with real buttery flavor that no shortening-based or store-bought version can match. Whether you're filling it with fruit, custard, or something savory, this is the foundation every homemade pie deserves.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
- 3–4 tbsp ice water
Instructions
- 1
Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until combined.
- 2
Add the chilled butter cubes to the flour mixture and work them in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter pieces still visible throughout.
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