Whenever I leave this world, I hope that my friends and family will think of me fondly and say, “That Erin. She baked a serious pie.” Especially if I used my Darn Good Whole Wheat Pie Crust.
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Hopefully, they’ll also mention something about my being a good person—while eating slices of pie.
I have a fierce, somewhat inexplicable desire to be a great pie baker. The only rational interpretation I’ve found for this compulsion is that I consider pie to be the dessert translation of love.
It’s messy, it’s intentional, and it doesn’t have to be perfect to be magnificent. In fact, I consider “pie” and “love” so synonymous, I once baked heart-shaped pies. Totally rational.
While I have many, many pies to bring into the world before I consider myself a “serious” pie baker, judging by the number of empty plates I’ve left in my wake thus far, I’m at least “respectable,” an honor I attribute to the fact that I finally broke down and started making my pie crust from scratch.
Or possibly my Cherry Pie Filling as well.
Homemade pie crust intimidated me. I believed it to be hard, time-consuming, and a feat that could only be achieved by professional bakers and seasoned grandmothers (often one and the same). I was convinced that, if my pie crust wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t worth making.
It doesn’t have to be perfect to be magnificent.
The Beauty of Homemade Pie Crust
As it turns out, pie crust is neither time-consuming nor the baking equivalent of Mt. Everest. In fact, if you use a food processor, it takes a grand total of 10 minutes.
Silence the voices that tell you pie crust is hard, that flakey is impossible, that homemade isn’t worth it. (Both this Oil Pie Crust and Shortbread Crust certainly are 100% worth it!)
While I do think that making a perfect pie crust from scratch requires long practice, fortunately for us, the distinction between “perfect” pie crust and “darn good” pie crust is a minute one, and darn-good pie crust can be made by just about anyone with a positive attitude and a willingness to embrace butter.
In my quest to leave a positive pie legacy, I’ve tried a plethora of different pie crust recipes and techniques. The clearest distinction between one recipe and another is the type of fat used.
My Grammy uses 100% shortening, while some of my favorite bakers like Deb and Joy swear by all-butter. Between the two, I find that shortening is indisputably flakier, but butter wins for best flavor, so I opt not to choose and use a combination of both.
The butter/shortening ratio in this recipe from Ina Garten (mostly butter, some shortening) nails both flakey and flavor, and the final version of today’s whole wheat pie crust recipe is closely based on it.
How to Make a Whole Wheat Pie Crust from Scratch
Forever dedicated to lightening up my favorite comfort foods, I conducted a series of healthier pie crust recipe experiments.
I swapped part of the butter for oil. I tried Greek yogurt. I even browned the butter to see if the stronger flavor would allow me to use less.
The results: only butter and shortening will do. (To the person silently insisting, “lard!” I’m sure it would work famously—I just didn’t go there.) Pie crust is worth doing properly. Embrace the butter and shortening.
Fortunately, my attempts to sneak whole-wheat flour into the pie crust were roaringly successful. (It’s a great alternative crust in this Brownie Pie.)
A blend of half all-purpose, half whole-wheat pastry flour still gives a tender, flakey texture, and the whole wheat adds a light, nutty flavor that’s delightful combined with any pie or quiche filling.
Tips for Pie Crust Success
- Overall, the most critical success factor to pie crust making I’ve found is restraint (in all things but butter anyway). When working in the butter and shortening, do not overdo it. The butter/shortening chunks should remain large, nearly the size of your thumbnail. When adding the water, stop just as soon as the dough is moist enough to hold together when pinched.
- The second critical success factor: keep it cold. The colder you can keep the ingredients (and the less you handle the dough), the flakier your crust will be.
Once the ingredients are combined, pop the dough into the fridge for some extra chill time, then we are ready to roll.
Now, I’m not going to pretend that I am an expert pie-crust crimper. In fact, I rewatch this MarthaStewart.com video every time I bake a pie. Then, I remind myself that a beautiful crimp and a mediocre crimp taste identical. My edges might never be Martha-perfect, but remember, perfect isn’t what we’re after.
We’re after darn good, and this whole wheat pie crust is all of that and more.
It doesn’t have to be perfect to be magnificent.
Delicious Sweet and Savory Pie Recipes
- Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
- Buttermilk Pie
- Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie
- Grammy’s Lemon Cream Pie
- Pumpkin Pecan Pie
Whole Wheat Pie Crust
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Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
- ⅓ cup very cold vegetable shortening
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or additional all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 6-8 tablespoons ice water (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Cut the butter and shortening into a small dice, then place them in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Place the all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, then pulse a few times to combin. Scatter the butter and shortening pieces over the top. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of chickpeas. Some of the pieces will be small and others will be larger (about the size of a thumnail).
- With the machine running, add 4 tablespoons ice water to feed tube. Add the remaining water one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough is moist enough to hold together with a small portion is pinched between your fingers. Pulse the machine until the dough forms a shaggy ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured board and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 60 minutes.
- Once chilled, divide the dough in two (if making a pie with a top and bottom crust, make one half slightly larger than the other and use the larger for the bottom). Use both immediately or wrap and refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to two months.
Can confirm, this is a darn good pie crust. We typically do 100% ww pastry flour, but follow everything else as is. Use it for every type of pie imaginable.
Every time we buy a slice of pie at a bakery, it is a letdown because the crust is not as good as this recipe. So, so good. We love so many recipes on your blog, but this honestly might be my favorite of all. Thank you for blessing us with the knowledge of how to make delicious pie.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Brian! Thank you!
Thank you! Can the vegetable shortening be substituted with something else?
Hi Gina, butter and shortening are pretty much interchangeable when it comes to pie crust so you should be able to substitute it easily. It will have a different result than the one I’ve tested here. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Hi Eriin,
This crust sounds delicious but I don’t have a full sized food processor. Do you think the ingredients would fit into the small Cuisinart?
Hi Shelagh, they won’t. You could try to make it by hand or in a stand up mixer. Hope this helps!
Damn, this is good pie crust! I keep ww pastry flour and Crisco on hand just for this purpose. No fuss but kinda special — what more can you ask for? (Note: Just saw Brian’s comment about using all ww and look forward to trying that next time.)
Dee Ann, thank you so much for sharing!!
Hi Erin,
In the middle of making this pie crust and it is so crumbly( even after chilling) it won’t roll out! Help!
Hi Hillary, it sounds like a little more ice water needs to be added but just a little you don’t want to add to much. Also careful not to overwork the dough, that could cause it to crumble as well. Hope this helps!
How can I make this dairy free?
Hi Karen, while I haven’t tested it I would use whatever you normally use in place of butter, such as a diary-free, plant based, or vegan substitute. Let me know how it goes if you decide to experiment!