Grammy’s Butter Crust

This is a no-nonsense reliable butter crust recipe that was passed along to me by my mother years ago, meticulously typed on a stained and yellowed index card. With that caveat, this is a delicious, simple, and completely basic butter crust that can be expanded upon for a variety of uses and variations. This basic recipe will provide enough crust for a full 9″ pie bottom. If you would like a top crust simply double the recipe.

My Nanan, my dad’s mother who emigrated to the US from Sheffield England, used a similar crust in her Cornish Pasty recipe that substituted shortening for half of the butter. I’ve tried both and have always been happier with the fuller flavor and flakier texture of an all-butter crust.

For starters, measure out 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose white flour, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 cup cubed cold butter. If your house is warm keep the butter in the refrigerator until the moment you need it, ice cold butter is the absolute key to big flakes in this pastry. Mix the salt in with the flour using a fork.

Next you’re going to cut in the cold cubed butter using a dough blender. Cubing the butter makes this step significantly easer, I like to cut my butter into just under tablespoon sized cubes before adding it to the flour. Continue cutting until the butter and the flour has combined into relatively uniform crumbles.

Gradually add ice water to your crumbles, tossing with a fork to ensure even distribution. Do not use a spoon for this step, as it causes the water to pool unevenly and will result in a tough and chewy finished dough. For this step I keep a measuring cup full of water and ice, to make absolutely certain the water is as cold as possible. The last thing you want to do is melt the butter at all, as I’ve already said, those big butter chunks are the key to big flakes in your finished crust.

You’ll know you’ve added enough water when three fingers pressed lightly into the crumbles will bind them firmly together. Working against the side of the bowl, shape the dough into one firm ball, pressing it against the sides to make sure you’ve picked up all of the loose crumbles that will inevitably form.

The next step varies depending on what you’re doing with your pastry dough. If you’re making a 9″ pie in a tin, form your dough into a disc about 3/4″ thick. If you’re making pasties form your dough into a log about 2″ thick (the two logs pictured are the result of a double batch of pie dough, one standard batch will make one log).

Refrigerate your dough for at least an hour, but ideally overnight. If you have excess dough it will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Grammy's Butter Crust

				Prep Time: 15 Minutes
			
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour 
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt 
- 1/2 Cup Ice Cold Cubed Butter
- 3-4 Tablespoons Ice Water
 
Directions
1. Measure ingredients. 
2. Combined flour and salt using a fork. 
3. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until uniform crumbles form. 
4. Add iced water 1 tablespoon at a time and toss with a fork until 
three fingers inserted forms a doughy indent. 
5. Shape dough into a 3/4" thick disc (for pie) or a 2" thick log 
(for pasties) and refrigerate wrapped in plastic for at least one hour or overnight.