This is my go to recipe for anything I need pie dough for. It is very buttery and flaky, so it works well for both sweet and savory dishes. I’ve used it for quiche crusts, pie crust, empanada dough, and homemade pop tart dough. It is a very simple recipe, but I would recommend using a generous amount of flour when working with this dough, due to the amount of butter in the recipe. 
PIE DOUGH
- 1 lb (4 sticks) Butter
- 4 3/4 cups (22 oz) Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 2/3 cup Water
I like to make this recipe using my stand mixer, but you could also use a food processor or mix it by hand. This recipe is a good amount to make a pie with a top and bottom crust and some decorations. If you only need a bottom crust, you could make half of 
this recipe. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- The first step is to cut the butter into your dry ingredients. Put the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of your mixer. Cut the butter into smaller chunks, and add it to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until the butter has broken up into smaller pieces and looks sort of mealy.
- Now pour the water into the mixing bowl and continue to mix with the paddle attachment on low speed until there are no crumbs left in the bowl.
- Generously flour your work surface and get your rolling pin ready! Take about 1/2-2/3 of the dough and work it into a flat circle with your hands. Then roll it out, trying to maintain the circular shape, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Place your pie pan on top of the dough and cut a circle of dough about 4 inches larger than your pan. Set the excess dough aside.
- Roll the circle of dough onto your rolling pin. Spray your pie pan with pan spray. Slowly unroll the dough from your rolling pin onto the pie pan, centering it as best you can.
- Lift the edges of the dough and let it fall into the center of the pan. Try not to stretch the dough. Press the dough into the pan and on the sides.
- Cut the excess dough off with your kitchen sheers. Flatten the edges of the dough with your fingers. Then roll the flattened edges under to create a thicker edge.
- Now that you have a sturdier edge,
you can pinch the edges to make a more finished looking pie crust. Simply place your index finger and thumb of one hand on the inside of the crust edge, and push your other index finger between those fingers on the other side of the crust. This will create a little zig-zag pattern.
- If you’re feeling fancy, you can roll out some of the leftover dough, and use a cookie cutter to add flowers or leaves to the edge.
Make an egg wash and brush it on the edge of your crust, and then place the flowers or leaves around the edge of the crust. Chill the crust before you bake it for at least 20 minutes.
- For all pies, you should par bake the crust. Place a piece of parchment in your pie pan, on top of the crust, and either fill it with uncooked beans, ceramic baking weights, or another pan to weigh down the dough during baking.
Bake the pie crust for about 15 minutes. If you are baking your filling into the crust, you can take the pie out and add the filling and then continue baking. If you are not baking the filling in the crust, then remove the weights and parchment and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the crust is fully baked.
- For this demo, I am not baking the filling into the crust, so I chose to bake it all the way through. The crust will be a light golden brown color.
