Nitrate & Nitrite Free All-Butter Pie Crust
A truly great pie starts with the crust, and this all-butter version delivers that perfectly flaky, golden, rich result that store-bought shells simply cannot match. The ingredient list is refreshingly short — just flour, salt, sugar, cold butter, and ice water — which means every element is completely clean and free from the cured or processed additives that sneak into so many packaged pastry products. Keeping the butter well chilled and working it in until you see those pea-sized pieces is the real secret here; those little pockets of fat are what create the tender, layered texture once the crust hits the oven. The brief rest in the refrigerator lets the gluten relax and the butter firm back up, making the dough far easier to roll out without tearing. Rolling from the center outward and folding the dough into quarters before transferring it to the dish is a small technique that saves a lot of frustration and keeps the crust intact. Whether you're filling it with fruit, custard, or a savory quiche, this is the kind of foundational recipe you'll come back to every single time you need a reliable, wholesome base.
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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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