Making a pie crust from scratch can be intimidating (which is why we make it easy for you with our ready-to-bake crusts, of course!), but it can also be so satisfying to slice into a golden-brown crust that you made all by yourself.

The following tutorial will deliver a flaky, buttery double-crust pie (one crust for the bottom, one for the top). If you’re only making a single-crust pie or a pie crust shell for no-bake fillings, simply cut the recipe in half.

What You’ll Need:

• Medium mixing bowl
• Rolling pin
• Pastry blender (or a fork, if you don’t have one)
• Plastic wrap or waxed paper
• 9-inch glass pie plate

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, shortening or lard, very cold
• 5-7 tablespoons ice water

Step 1: Mix the Dough

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Mix well. With a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter (or the chilled fat of your choice) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized morsels remaining.

Sprinkle with ice water (1 tablespoon at a time), while mixing and tossing lightly with a fork. Add water until dough is just moist enough to form a ball when lightly pressed together. Too much water causes the dough to become sticky and tough; too little causes the edges to crack and the pastry to tear when rolling.

Expert tip: Pie pastry gains its characteristic flakiness from careful handling. The ingredients should be mixed well enough to hold together, but not so much as to melt or break down the fat entirely. Visible bits of fat are a good thing!

Step 2: Shape the Dough

Shape dough into two balls. Flatten each gently into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, remove the dough and let it stand outside the fridge for 5 minutes before rolling. (You don’t need to chill the dough if you’re in a rush, but it does help maintain the quality of the crust.)