Description
Grandma’s classic Ruth’s pie crust delivers flaky, buttery perfection with simple ingredients and generations of baking wisdom. Crisp pastry promises delightful memories and warm kitchen moments you’ll cherish with each delectable slice.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (225 g) cold unsalted butter
Fat/Binding Components:
- ¼–½ cup (60–120 ml) ice water
Seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional, for sweet pies)
Instructions
- In a spacious mixing vessel, combine flour, salt, and optional sugar, thoroughly blending the dry components with a whisk to ensure even distribution.
- Introduce chilled butter into the flour mixture, utilizing a pastry cutter or nimble fingertips to integrate until the texture resembles coarse, gravelly crumbs with occasional pea-sized butter fragments.
- Incrementally introduce ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time, gently folding with a fork or hands until the dough coheres without becoming overly manipulated. The ideal consistency should maintain structural integrity when compressed.
- Partition the dough into two equal segments, molding each into a compact disk. Encase each disk securely in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for a minimum of 60 minutes or up to 48 hours to enhance flavor and texture.
- Select a lightly dusted work surface and carefully roll one dough disk to approximately 1/8-inch thickness, ensuring sufficient dimension to generously line the pie dish. Tenderly transfer the rolled dough, pressing gently to conform to the dish’s contours.
- Trim excess dough edges, maintaining a slight overhang if preparing a double-crust configuration. Should a top crust be desired, roll the second dough disk with equivalent precision.
- Populate the prepared crust with selected filling, drape with the top crust if applicable. Meticulously crimp edges to create a hermetic seal, then delicately score several small vents to facilitate steam escape.
- Proceed with baking according to the specific recipe’s thermal and temporal guidelines, monitoring for golden-brown perfection.
Notes
- Keep butter super cold to ensure a flaky, tender crust that crumbles perfectly with each bite.
- Use unsalted butter for better control over the salt content and a more consistent flavor profile.
- Handle the dough minimally to prevent gluten development, which can make the crust tough and chewy.
- Substitute part of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour for a nuttier flavor and added nutrition.
- For a vegan version, replace butter with cold coconut oil or chilled vegetable shortening that maintains similar texture.
- Chill the dough for maximum 48 hours to prevent potential staleness and maintain optimal butter distribution.
- Add a splash of vodka instead of water to create an extra-tender crust that stays flakier after baking.
- Blind bake the crust for custard or cream-based pies to prevent a soggy bottom and ensure crisp texture.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 190 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg