Best All Butter Pie Crust Dough

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt to combine.

Add the butter, tossing the cubes in the flour to coat. Rub the butter into the flour until it is the size of walnut halves (for a flaky crust) or peas (for a mealy crust).

Make a well in the center, and add the water a few tablespoons at a time and mix just until the dough comes together.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill well before rolling, forming, and baking.

VARIATIONS: Chocolate Pie Dough Replace: ¼ cup/30 grams of the all purpose flour with 1/3 cup/28 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (any kind, but dark or black cocoa powder (see Resources) make particularly intense crusts). Take care not to overbake this crust – look for a dry, matte appearance all over as an indicator. Spiced Pie Crust: Add up to 1 1/2 tablespoons ground spices or a combination of a few! One of my fave combos is 1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, and ½ teaspoon ground cloves.

-To Roll Out the Dough: Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and lightly dust a rolling pin, if desired. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick, rotating it as you work to help prevent it from sticking. To transfer the dough to the pan, gently roll it up, wrapping it around the pin, then unfurl it into the pie plate. -To Prepare the Edge for Crimping: On a single crust pie, use scissors to trim away the excess dough, leaving about ½ inch excess all the way around the outside edge of the pie plate. Tuck this excess dough under, pressing gently to make it flush with the edge of the pie plate. On a double crust pie, gently press the top and bottom crust together to flatten the dough slightly, then trim the excess and tuck under ss directed for a single crust pie. -To Par-Bake the Dough: Dock the crimped single crust pie dough with a fork and chill well (at least 30 minutes). Cut a square of parchment paper slightly larger than the diameter of a pie plate, and press it into the base of the pie plate. Fill with pie weights to the top inner rim of the pie plate. Bake in a 425°F oven until the edges begin to lightly brown, 15-17 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights, and return to the oven until the lower portion of the crust appears dry and set, 2-3 minutes more. Cool completely before filling. -To Blind-Bake the Dough: Follow the instructions for par-baking, but bake until it is fully golden brown. After removing the pie weights, bake for 5-7 minutes. Cool completely before filling.