The crust has a higher ratio of butter to flour than many pie crusts, which makes it extra flaky. This recipe works best with American butter and not higher fat European butters.
It's a simple and forgiving dough to work with. The sugar in the dough helps with browning, but doesn't make the crust itself sweet, which makes the dough flexible enough to work with sweet or savory fillings.
This crust works well for rustic free-form galettes or intricate lattice crusts.
I include instructions for blind-baking here, that is, baking the crust without filling, but you can use this with any standard pie recipe.
07Drape the dough over a 9-inch pie plate and gently nestle the dough into the pan so it's pressed up against the sides of the dish.
08Trim away the excess dough, leaving an overhang about 1 1/2 inches all around the pie plate. Fold over to make a border of dough that sits on the rim of the pie plate and press the dough between your thumb and index and middle fingers to create a crimping pattern. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. (If making a double crust pie, roll remaining dough out and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and chill flat.)
09Proceed with your recipe. To blind bake the crust, preheat oven to 350° line the chilled crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with uncooked rice, beans, or pie weights. Place on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 1 hour. Carefully life out the lining and use within 24 hours of baking.