Easiest and Flakiest Pie Pastry Recipe

I guarantee you will be able to make the pie of your dreams with the easiest pie pastry recipe ever!

Apple pie on counter with two apples.

I have always loved baking for as long as I can remember. This pasty recipe is from my high school cooking class and although I’ve tried numerous pastry recipes since and I always refer back to this one! It’s the flakiest one by far and so easy to make if you follow along with these steps.

Ready to get started?

how to make the flakiest pastry

Cut in shortening to your flour mixture with a pastry blender. Keep blending until the shortening resembles the size of peas.

A stainless steel mixing bowl with a pastry cutter and flour and butter in the bowl.

Pour in the liquid and gently stir it with a fork. For the best/flakiest crust, you don’t want to play with the dough too much. You just want to incorporate the liquid in just a bit. Place two pieces of plastic wrap on the counter then cut the dough in half with a dough scraper/cutter and place each half on the plastic wrap.

Note: Don’t worry if your dough is really crumbling. Just pour it on the plastic wrap and you can smush it together once wrapped up.

Mixing the dough together with a fork and the recipe beside it.

Then wrap them up tightly and chill in the fridge for one hour. It will make handling the pastry dough so much easier and the pastry won’t shrink up when baked.

Measuring cups and the dough on the counter I balls with Saran Wrap.
The wrapped balls of pastry dough.

Roll out one half onto a well floured counter using a well floured rolling pin. Roll out bigger than the pie plate. Fold in half and transfer over pie plate.

The pastry rolled out on the counter with a rolling pin beside it.
The rolled out pastry being positioned into the pie plate with the dough hanging over the edge.

This is an apple pie I made, click here for the recipe.

And now you can wow your guests with the flakiest pie pastry ever!

The baked pie with the flaky dough and four little air holes on top.

Be sure to print the recipe below.

Print Recipe

Easiest Pie Pastry Recipe Ever

This is the easiest and flakiest pie pastry recipe ever!
Author: Jamie Lundstrom – So Much Better With Age

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • Dash of salt
  • 1 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • extra flour

Instructions

  • Sift & measure flour into large bowl.
  • Add salt and stir.
  • Cut in shortening with pastry blender until size of small peas.
  • Beat egg in a 1 cup measuring cup.
  • Add vinegar to egg.
  • Add cold water to egg mixture {about 3/4-1 cup cold water}.
  • Add liquid to flour mixture and stir slightly with a fork to form a ball (you won't use all the water).
  • Use a fork to form a loose ball and divide in half and place on two pieces of plastic wrap.
  • Chill in fridge for 1 hour.
  • Roll pastry out onto floured surface with a rolling pin.
  • Note: If your recipe calls for baking the pastry first, prick all the sides and bottom area with a fork and bake at 450 deg for 8-10 minutes.
  • Use your favorite pie filling recipe for regular baking instructions.

Make sure to pin it for later!

Easiest and Flakiest Pie Pastry Recipe graphic.

click in case you missed:

 Apple Pie Recipe

Best Apple Pie Recipe Ever graphic.

The Best Lemon Meringue Pie

The Best Lemon Meringue Pie graphic.

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16 Comments

  2. Great video! Well done! I’ve never used egg in my pie crusts. My mom gave me a recipe which uses hot water. What I love about her recipe is that you don’t have to worry about overworking the crust. I might give your recipe a try though, because I’m always open to trying new recipes.

    Reply

  3. Wow! I am mesmerized by your baking skills, woman! And after watching this video, I feel like even I could tackle this. (Although there are a few baking tools I might need to ask for this Christmas: a flour sifter, pastry blender, and whatever it was you used to cut the dough. So fancy!) And I’m so impressed you learned this in ninth grade AT SCHOOL. Wish I could have had a class like that!

    Reply

  4. Oh my goodness – best pie pastry video ever! Seriously – I have never made a pie pastry from scratch, but maybe, just maybe I can handle this! And you are too freakin adorable! And brave – I could never do a video!

    Reply

  9. I can not lift my pastry like that. I have no counter space so make it on a wooden table. Even with flour it sticks to the table and /or the rolling pin. Any suggestions?

    I recently bought a pastry sheet to roll it out onto, still pulls apart so I patch it together. It tastes good, but is so hard to get into the pan. Help…

    Reply

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