Hey Reader,

It's summer, which means it's pie season, and that means it's time to talk pie dough! If you've been wanting to tackle a homemade crust, my All-Butter Pie Crust is the place to start.

I used to avoid making pies, because my mom was so good at it, but now that I've learned how, I enjoy in making and rolling out the dough. For me, persistence, practice, and working through my mistakes was key.

Here are some things I've learned:

💦 Most recipes don't mention this: while the recipe calls for a certain amount of water, you may need more or less. Flour is hygroscopic, meaning it naturally absorbs or releases moisture from the air.

So on humid days you may need less water, and on dry days you may need more. This is where practice comes into play — as you get used to making pie dough, you become familiar with how it should look and feel.

When your dough does go sideways, here are the most common fixes:

🥧 Problem: Crumbly, cracking edges when rolling out the dough.
✅ Solution: Not enough water was added to the dough. Work 1 or 2 tablespoons of water into the dough, then refrigerate it for 15–30 minutes.

🥧 Problem: Dough tears when transferring it to the pie pan.
✅ Solution: The dough is too warm — chill it for 15 minutes.

🥧 Problem: Dough is sticky and hard to roll out, or it shrinks a lot when baked.
✅ Solution: Too much water was added to the dough initially. The extra water activates the gluten, which is what causes the noticeable shrinkage when it's baked.

🥧 Problem: Tough, chewy crust.
✅ Solution: The dough was overworked, or not enough fat was added. Without enough fat to coat the flour, the water has direct contact with the flour, causing more gluten development.

Please let me know if you've found this information helpful.

Happy Baking! Cheryl

If you ever make any of my recipes, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a comment and a star rating! Your feedback helps me create even better recipes and helps others discover them too! Thanks so much for your support!