Carrageenan Free Classic Pie Dough
Flaky, buttery pie dough is one of those foundational recipes every home baker should have in their back pocket, and this version delivers a perfectly tender, layered crust every single time. Many store-bought pie crusts and pre-made doughs rely on stabilizers and thickeners — including carrageenan — to extend shelf life and improve texture, which makes scratch-made dough the smartest move for anyone avoiding that additive. Here, the ingredient list is refreshingly short: flour, sugar, salt, real butter, and ice water — nothing hidden, nothing processed. The technique of leaving some pea-sized and almond-sized butter pieces intact is the secret to those gorgeous, shatter-crisp layers that make a homemade crust so satisfying. Chilling the dough before rolling lets the gluten relax and keeps the butter cold, which means the crust bakes up light rather than tough. Whether you're filling it with fruit, custard, or something savory, this dough is a clean, reliable base you can feel genuinely good about using.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
- 6–8 tbsp ice water
Instructions
- 1
Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl until evenly combined.
- 2
Add the chilled butter cubes to the flour mixture and work them in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips, pressing each cube flat and breaking it into smaller pieces, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized and almond-sized butter pieces still visible throughout — this uneven texture is what creates flaky layers.
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