Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (chilled in freezer if possible)
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3–4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 splash apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 1/3 cups of ice-cold water
Apple Filling (optional)
- 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 2–3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (just a light sprinkle)
- Pinch of salt
- Small nubs of butter (for dotting the filling)
- Optional: a little lemon zest
Instructions
Pie Crust Preperation
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. If you have time, chill the flour in the freezer beforehand — this helps with flakiness.
- Toss the cold butter cubes into the dry mixture. Flatten each cube gently between your fingers into a little “butter pancake.” The goal is to coat the butter in flour while keeping it cold and distinct.
- Drizzle in a splash of vinegar. Then slowly add ice-cold water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a spoon or your hands. Stop when the dough just starts to hold together — it should still look a bit floury. Too much handling = tough crust. Warm butter = no flakes.
- Turn the mixture onto your counter. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the dough in half, stack one half on top of the other, and press together. Repeat this twice — no more. This step adds flaky layers.
- Split the dough into two portions, one slightly larger than the other if you plan to make a double crust pie. Wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze for 20–30 minutes before rolling out.
- Roll the larger disc on a floured surface and transfer it to a pie tin (rolling it onto the rolling pin and unrolling over the tin works nicely).
Apple Pie (Optional)
- Peel, core, and thinly slice apples.
- Toss apple slices with sugar, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a bit of lemon zest if you like. Fill the pie crust and dot with small pieces of butter.
- Roll out the second (smaller) dough disc and lay it over the filling. Trim and pinch the edges closed. Poke a few fork holes on top to vent.
- Bake at 375°F for about 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles.
Comments
The key is to keep everything cold and to touch the dough as little as possible. The double-stack folding trick gives beautiful flakes without toughening the dough, and freezing the flour before starting is Hadas’ secret move for extra crispness.
Historical Record
Every year Liza bakes Henry a pie for his birthday from scratch. Her goal is to continue developing this recipe until she produces the perfect pie crust (the main judge being Henry Wilkinson, of course). The first version of this recipe was shared to Liza by friend Hadas Rosen, who is well known for her expansive knowlegde on the topic of baked goods.