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A blend of butter and lard ensures a flaky, tender pastry in Alton Brown's Thanksgiving-ready classic homemade pie crust recipe.
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Course: Sweets
Keyword: Baking, Christmas, Dessert, Holidays, Southern, Thanksgiving

Classic Pie Crust

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 1 (9-inch) crust
How to make a classic buttery pie crust from scratch — it's easier than you might think.
This recipe first appeared in Season 7 of Good Eats and was updated in Season 1 of Good Eats: Reloaded.
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  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons lard
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 cup ice water (in spritz bottle)
  • 2 pounds dry beans, for blind baking

Specialized Hardware

Food processor
2 (9-inch) pie plates
ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 1 (9-inch) crust

Procedure

  • Place butter and lard in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add lard and pulse another 3 to 4 times. Remove lid of food processor and spritz surface of mixture thoroughly with water. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Add more water and pulse again until mixture holds together when squeezed. Place mixture in large zip-top bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 425°F. Place 2 (9-inch) metal pie pans in the refrigerator to chill.
  • Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary. Crump as desired. Poke holes in dough and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  • Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.
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