Well, I didn't have much success with this recipe. I'm a total crust novice, so I'm sure the fault was all mine. The dough was super crumbly and I couldn't get it to stick together, even with the addition of a couple of extra tablespoons of ice water. I was panicked that I was over-kneading and/or over warming the dough by working with it for so long, so I ultimately gave up and used the Pillsbury refrigerated crust. Alas! Any suggestions for a baking newbie?

Your blog/web site is so well done!
I love to cook, but being a mother and also working 1 hour away from home 9 hours a day, I have little time to actually do it!

I love these pictures, because since I have never ever attempted to make a home-made pie crust, I do not know the textures and what things should look like at each stage. Since your pictures are so good, I feel pretty confident that I can manage to do this correctly. I am very glad I stumbled onto your site by searching "Apple Pie" on Google, Thanks, I will be using it often

Hi,

I've already tried this recipe twice, and it's been really really great! The first time, it acutally turned out quite flaky and it was sooo good. The second time, I think I overkneaded and I might've added a bit too much water, but it still turned out quite acceptable. So thanks for the recipe and the pics! They really helped! I'll keep practicing, and hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon :D

For a non food processor tip, use a grater on frozen butter then toss the butter in with the flour mixture gently breaking apart the butter bits into the flour before adding the water. I also use a touch of apple cider vineger mixed in with the water and no sugar with mine.

Can this be made using whole wheat flour?

Hi Alissa, I only use white flour for pastry making, but others do use whole wheat flour. You might try doing an Internet search for "whole wheat pie crust". ~Elise

Love the site! I had two questions regarding making this recipe ahead and saving it for when you need it:

1 - how long with the prepared dough last in the fridge?

2 - do you have any tips on freezing?

Thanks!

Hi Christine. The dough will last about 2 days in the fridge. Not much longer than that though. I once let some dough go for 4 days, but it smelled funky so I had to throw it out. For freezing the dough, just sprinkle the disc with flour, wrap it in plastic wrap, wrap it again in aluminum foil, and freeze it. It should last for months that way. ~Elise

This recipe works well. I think it's easier to make without the food processor but you should use a pastry utensil (or two knives if not available) to avoid warming it too much. Another tip -- keep pastry flour in the freezer. That helps make the dough more forgiving and immediately rollable.

I love this crust! It was so fast and easy to make. I work at a day spa and wanted to make personal pumpkin pies for my clients! This is the Best Crust! Thanks

Sara From Califonia

I've never made a crust by myself before, and this recipe worked fantastically. I upped the ingredients a fraction- I am currently living in Germany and naturally cannot find a 9-inch pie pan (I had to use a larger tort pan). I also had to make the dough by hand, so while the food processor might be handy, it is not necessary.

Thanks for helping me spread a little Thanksgiving cheer to some sixth-grade German students! They loved it!

Elise, thank you for the perfect pate brisee recipe - I had a hard time finding the pre-made one at the store recently and now I will never have to buy it ever again. It's so easy to make, thanks to your step by step instructions and pictures. I didn't even use a food processor and it still came out perfectly. (I did cut my butter into 1/4 inch squares though.) I substituted the white flour for spelt flour and my quiche tasted great.

Let me start by saying that I am not a pie crust fan. I usually find that pie crust is bland and I never eat the end part of the crust that that goes around the edge of the pie pan. This pie crust, however, is heavenly and I will happily scarf down ever speck. It has a wonderful rich flavor from the butter and despite the fact that it's made without shortening, it's not too dense like other all butter crusts I have tried. I've never wanted to make pies before because I disliked pie crust so much, but I want to make so many pies now that I have found this recipe. I can't imagine wanting to try any other recipe since this one is so perfect! Thank you, Elise, for turning me onto pies again!

How cold is very cold ice water?

A few degrees above freezing. ~Elise

Re: Alissa's post about whole wheat flour, I posted the following in my comment about the pumpkin pie recipe:

"My pie crust was made with sprouted/dried/milled whole wheat flour with 1/3 of it hard red wheat (bread wheat) and 2/3 of it a soft pastry wheat. It was out of this world; flaky, delicate and delicious. I think that the problems people have baking with whole wheat are threefold: they use bread flour, it's not fresh (milled whole grains go rancid very quickly) and they don't sprout or soak it before milling. You can get Summer's Sprouted Flours if you don't have your own mill, and keep them in the freezer so they don't go rancid. I used Rapunzel Rapadura unrefined sugar for the sweetener.

Finally, if you click on the "recommended reading" link to Shuna Fish Lydon's blog, there is a link there to a recipe for homemade pop-tarts, and these are what I made from the leftover dough. Yum!"