Citric Acid Free Classic Pie Dough
Flaky, buttery pie dough is the foundation of so many beloved bakes, and this classic version keeps things beautifully simple with just five everyday ingredients. For anyone navigating a citric acid sensitivity, store-bought doughs and pastry mixes can be surprisingly tricky — many contain additives or preservatives that sneak citric acid into the ingredient list. This recipe sidesteps all of that with nothing but flour, sugar, salt, butter, and ice water, so you know exactly what's going into your crust. The real secret to those gorgeous flaky layers is leaving some pea- and almond-sized butter pieces intact as you work the dough — those uneven chunks melt in the oven and create the lift and tenderness that makes a homemade crust so satisfying. Chilling the dough for at least an hour lets the gluten relax and keeps the butter cold, which means a crisper, more delicate result once it hits the oven. Whether you're filling it with something sweet or savory, this is the kind of foundational recipe you'll come back to again and again.
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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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