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My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust

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My favorite flaky, delicious buttermilk pie crust (made with a food processor). This is seriously the easiest pie dough you will ever make or work with!

Rolled out buttermilk pie dough with text: My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust.

Hey, it’s a Saturday. What’s a Baking Mischief recipe doing in your feed!? Welcome to Simple Saturdays!

I have a ton of foundation recipes or simple tips and tricks I have been wanting to add to the blog but just haven’t been able to fit into the Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

I’ve simply published a couple of them backdated in the feed so I can link to them in recipes, but adding another posting day to the schedule seemed like the best compromise to make sure they are seen (and can therefore be of use), so every other Saturday, we’ll have a simple recipe, trick, or maybe a round up I’ve been dying to do.

And if you have any requests for posts or something you would like to see, shoot me an email! I want to post the things that are going to best help you!

Okay, table setting aside. On to the recipe: My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust! You’ve seen this recipe before. I used it for my Green Eggs and Ham Mini Quiche, my Easy Beef Pasties, and it will show up again in a recipe this Friday, but I know pie crust can be intimidating for a lot of people (it certainly was for me), so I wanted to do a step by step walk through.

Buttermilk pie dough being cut into rounds.

I LOVE this pie crust for these reasons, in this order:

  1. It’s SO delicious and flaky. It’s an all butter crust, and nothing beats the rich taste of pure butter in pie crust.
  2. It’s incredibly easy to work with when rolling out and shaping.
  3. It’s the easiest thing in the world to make. Seriously. I have pictures to prove it.

This method uses a food processor. You CAN make this dough with a pastry cutter* and a bowl–that’s how I make most of my other pie crusts to ensure a nice and flaky finished product, but this dough produces such a flaky crust that making it in the food processor doesn’t seem to affect it at all. So for the convenience, if at all possible, I say use a food processor!

If you don’t own one, this is the food processor I have*, and I love it.

This recipe makes about 24 ounces of dough. That’s enough for two 9-inch crusts. A half batch will make a single 9-inch crust or two 6-inch pie crusts for mini pies. If you have a small food processor, I recommend making only a half batch at a time, as the 5-cup models will have trouble processing this amount of dough.

And now how to make the easiest buttermilk pie crust in the world:

Dump all the dry ingredients in your food processor.

Flour in a food processor to make buttermilk pie crust.

Add chilled butter and pulse until butter is about the size of a pea.

Collage photo of butter being cut into flour for pie dough.

Drizzle in buttermilk…

Buttermilk being poured into food processor for pie dough.

…and pulse until mixture just begins to clump together.

Buttermilk pie crust being made in food processor.

You know it’s done and has enough liquid if it holds its shape when pressed together.

Pie dough being made.

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump half of the mixture onto the wrap.

Pile of buttermilk pie crust crumbs before being shaped.

Press tightly into a disk (if you are going to make full, round crusts, make your disk as circular as possible since it will make rolling easier later–these were destined to become mini pie crusts so I didn’t bother) and repeat with the other half of the crumbs. Store in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to two days before using.

Buttermilk pie dough in bags ready for the freezer.

Roll out, shape, and make into something delicious like:

P.S. If you have any leftover scraps of pie dough, check out this post on What to Do With Leftover Pie Dough.

My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust

My favorite flaky, delicious buttermilk pie crust (made with a food processor). This is seriously the easiest pie dough you will ever make or work with!
4.98 from 34 votes
Print
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings (Hover or Click to Change Yield): 10
Calories: 284kcal
Author: Tracy

Ingredients

Full Batch (9-inch Double Crust)

  • 1 cup (8oz, 2 sticks) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 to 2/3 cup buttermilk*

Half Batch (9-inch Single Crust or 6-inch Double Crust)

  • 8 tablespoons (4oz, 1 stick) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup buttermilk

Quarter Batch (6-inch Single Crust)

  • 4 tablespoons (2oz) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons (75g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons buttermilk

Instructions

  • Before you begin measuring everything out, place the cubed butter in the freezer to chill.
  • Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, and pour into the food processor. Add butter and pulse until butter is cut into the flour, but still has visible chunks no larger than a pea.
  • While pulsing, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the buttermilk (1/4 for half batch, 2 tablespoons for a quarter batch) and continue to pulse until the buttermilk is incorporated into the dough. At this point, your dough should look like rough crumbs and just hold its shape if squeezed together. If the dough does not, add a a little more buttermilk, a teaspoon at a time.
  • Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump half of your dough crumbs onto the sheet. (If you are making only a single crust, do not divide dough.) Gather the edges and press tightly together to form a 1-inch thick disk. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to 24.

Notes

*If you measured your flour by weight, you will need closer to 1/2 cup of buttermilk for a full double crust, but if you measure your flour by volume, you will almost certainly technically have more than 2 1/2 cups of flour (scooping flour into measuring cups tends to compress it), so you will probably end up needing closer to 2/3 cup. Use just enough buttermilk for your dough to hold together. Using too much can result in a tough, crunchy finished product.
Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag @BakingMischief or hashtag it #BakingMischief.

Nutritional Information
Recipe Adapted From: B.Britnell


Make-ahead Instructions: This dough does very well when made ahead of time. Simply store as shown, in the refrigerator, and use within 48 hours or freeze.
Freezer Instructions: Freeze plastic-wrapped dough in a freezer bag and keep for up to 3 months. To use, defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

*Links marked with an asterisk are affiliate links, which means I receive small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.

Comments

  1. Kathy Johnson says

    I want to make this pie crust for Thanksgiving but would you tell me how you measure your flour. Do you sift the flour first or do you just spoon it in the measuring cup or how do you do yours thank you so much looking to make this

    Reply

    • Tracy says

      Hi, Kathy, when I don’t have a scale available, I just give the flour a little stir in the flour container/bag and then scoop it into my measuring cup with a big spoon and sweep off the extra on top with the flat side of a butter knife. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  2. ree says

    Thank you. I’ve been wanting to try my own crust and it came out beautifully and tasted oh so good. All that butter LOL. I did not have buttermilk so added vinegar to milk (google the recipe) and let it sit a bit. I will be using this recipe from now on. I made flat square crusts for chicken pot pie soup.

    Reply

  3. Denise says

    5 stars
    This is a wonderful recipe. I used the quarter recipe to go along with the chicken pot pie recipe and it was the best pot pie I’ve ever made. The crust was so light and flaky.

    Reply

    • Tracy says

      Thanks, Denise! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. And pot pie sounds really good right about now. You’re making me hungry. LOL.

      Reply

  4. Vick boston says

    I’ve tried many crust recipes. They all seem to work well.buBut I have trouble with the bottom crust being flaky or even done. What am i doing wrong? Nothing worse Han a gooey pie crust on the bottom.

    Reply

    • Tracy says

      Hi, Vick, there are a couple things you can do. First, if it’s a custard pie or something that doesn’t bake that long, make sure you’re blind baking the crust as the recipe call for. Second, you can brush the crust with whisked egg white before adding the filling. That will help keep the filling from making the bottom soggy, and finally, if using a metal pie pan (don’t do this with glass or ceramic pans because it can cause them to crack), place a cookie sheet in the oven while it’s preheating, and then put the pie directly onto the hot cookie sheet when it’s time to bake it. This will also help cook the crust faster so it doesn’t end up soggy. Hope that helps, and good luck! 🙂

      Reply

    • Tracy says

      Hi, Carla. You can cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter and mix in the buttermilk like you would with a traditional pie crust OR freeze the butter and grate it into your flour and then use a fork to mix in the buttermilk until the dough clumps and forms. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  6. Suswan Miller says

    Wow! That looks to be an awesome recipe… and I hope I can finally achieve good pastry! I am a good cook/baker but pastry is my downfall. I am a Brit and live in northern Portugal – where they don’t sell Buttermilk .. however, I am planning on making something similar with yogurt and milk. Do you think that will work ? I so hope so !

    Thank you !

    Reply

    • Tracy says

      Hi, Susan. People make pie crust with yogurt all the time, so I would think it would work just fine. Please let me know how it turns out! And good luck! 🙂

      Reply

    • Tracy says

      Hi, Kristin, you could definitely fill it with pierogi filling and bake it, making like a pierogi/pasty hybrid, but I wouldn’t try boiling it like traditional pierogi dough. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  9. Sheila says

    Hi there,
    I heard you can assemble fruit pies and freeze ahead of time before baking… I’m wondering if this pie shell recipe would hold up too?

    Reply

  10. CToth says

    5 stars
    This pie crust was excellent. I made it for your French Apple Galette and it turned out perfectly. Thank you for the measurements for 1/4 pie crust – genius when baking for two. So easy using the food processor. Great recipe

    Reply

  11. Maryam says

    Thank you for this recipe .. I want to try it but I have question if you could answer me:
    what’s difference between pie and tart???

    Reply

  12. Sue says

    5 stars
    I love using buttermilk in my pie dough. I make a lot of pies and I’ve found that if I roll out the pie shells flat and wrap them individually in plastic wrap and lay them on top of each other on a non-sided cookie sheet and put the sheet in the freezer I can have a nice pie anytime I want. Just take off the top layer and bring it to room temp (doesn’t take long at all). No rolling pin or flour mess to clean up and I have a pie in no time.

    Reply

  13. Cynthia says

    Thank you for doing the math for the various size pies. I was going to buy a refrigerated crust but you made it so easy, I have to go for it! Making individual Chicken Pot Pies, think I will use a double crust…

    Reply

    • Tracy says

      Hi Linda, blind bake first. 10 to 15 minutes at 400° with a sheet of parchment paper or foil inside filled with pie weights, until the crust edges are just lightly golden. Remove weights and foil and bake for another couple of minutes, up to 5, until the bottom of the pie no longer looks wet. This crust sometimes puffs up a little during the second step and you can just gently pat it down right after it comes out of the oven.

      Hope the crust works out well for you!

      Reply

      • Rebecca says

        I never bake the crust first for pumpkin pie or any of my baked pies. With the length of time the custard pies have to bake the exposed edge crust needs to be covered for a time to prevent getting to dark or even burning. Plus my crusts turn out nice and browned and flakey. JS

4.98 from 34 votes (25 ratings without comment)

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