How to Make Pie Crust With Whole Wheat Flour

Have you been looking for a no-fail whole-wheat pie crust recipe? If you find making homemade wheat pie crust intimidating, don't worry because I promise I will do everything I can to break it down and make it easy for any level cook.

Once you get the basics down, it is really easy. In fact, I can make a batch in under 5 minutes. Yes, it's that fast. And honestly, It makes the best pie crust!

Another really great thing about this recipe is it is a partial wheat crust. If you haven't tried making pie dough with whole wheat, don't worry, it tastes amazing and is so flaky!! I promise you will love it.

Once you've got it down, use it to make blueberry pie, ground beef hand pies, and the cherry slab pie shown in the picture above! Another favorite of mine is this Mediterranean Quiche recipe.

How to Make Pie Dough

What tools do you use for making pie dough? Let me share the three options that work really well.

1. Making pie crust in a food processor. This one is my favorite and also the quickest. I use a Cuisinart Food Processor. It is one of my kitchen workhorses, and I use it constantly. It makes really quick work on a batch of dough.
2. Another option is using a pastry cutter. This is a really good option if you aren't ready to make the food processor purchase yet. The pastry cutter works really well and it is such an inexpensive option!
3. The final option, and one pie purist use, are....your hands. Yes, only your hands. I rarely use this method, I like to work a little faster than that, but it also produces amazing results!

Whole Wheat Dough Basics

There are a few things you need to know before you get started. They're important so make sure you don't skip this part! These tips are simple and really will help you master the basics and before you know it, you will be making pie dough in your sleep!! 🙂

• Make sure all ingredients are chilled. The most important thing in this all-butter crust is to keep that butter COLD until it hits the oven. The reason for this is you want chunks of butter throughout the uncooked dough so that as it bakes, the butter melts, creating small pockets in the dough. This is what makes layers in a crust and keeps the dough flaky and tender. So remember, keep the dough chilled!
• Get everything ready to go before you start mixing. This ensures everything stays chilled as you work quickly. This can only happen if everything is laid out and ready to go.
• Give the dough time to chill. Once the dough is made, divide it in half, wrap each half well, and place them in the fridge. Give the dough time to chill and relax. This is a legitimate thing, the dough actually does need to relax. It is so much easier to work with when the gluten has relaxed. For best results, it needs to chill for at least two hours.
• Not sure which wheat flour to use? This is a partial wheat crust, meaning you will use a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose white flour. My top choice is whole wheat pastry flour, but a white or red whole wheat flour and if you want to venture out, I have used spelt flour, rye, and einkorn as well. All produce really great results. For this recipe, I use whole wheat pastry flour.

Ingredients

All you need are four simple ingredients to make the best whole wheat pie crust. Let's take a look at what it takes.

• Flours: All-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour. You can also easily use all 100% whole wheat flour and leave out the all-purpose if you prefer.
• Salt: Enhances the flavor of the pie crust.
• Butter: Make sure it's chilled. After you cut it into chunks keep it in the freezer until you're ready to add it to the flour.
• Ice water: It's important to make sure it's cold to ensure the butter stays cold.

How to Make Wheat Flour Pie Dough

Okay, with the basics out of the way, let's get mixing.

1. Start with your dry ingredients in the food processor or bowl you will be working with. In a traditional pie dough, this is only flour and salt.
2. If you're using a food processor, give it a few quick pulses. If you're using a pastry cutter or your hands, give it a gentle swirl.
3. Next, add in your butter. You can see it is in pretty big chunks. They should only be this big if you are using the food processor.

TOP TIP: When using the food processor start with large chunks because the food processor cuts that butter up super fast. If it is too small at the beginning it will be nothing by the time you mix. If you are mixing with the pastry cutter or your hands, you will want to start with chunks a little smaller than those shown below.

4. Pulse this several times. You still want to maintain pretty good-sized chunks as you will mix again after you add the ice water. In the photo below you can see what my chunks look like.

5. Now you're ready to add in your iced water. The water is a variable so how much you need to add depends on your climate, the dryness in your home and the temperature. I will give you a range for adding the water. Start with the smallest measurement listed, then add another tablespoon or two as needed.

TOP TIP: I don't like to mix it more than a few pulses, as the food processor can break the butter up too much. The way to tell if you have added enough water is to pinch the dough between your thumb and forefinger. If it sticks together, it is good!

6. Once it's at the right texture, place it on your surface.

7. Press the dough into a log. Can you see those chunks of butter? That is what you are looking for!

8. Now, divide the dough in half. This will be your top and bottom pie crust.
9. Wrap these well and then place them into the fridge. You can also freeze this dough for up to one month. Just make sure it is wrapped well so it won't take on any flavors in your freezer.

How to Make Whole Wheat Flour Pie Crust

Now, once your pie dough has been chilled, it is ready to go. Follow the instructions below to use it to make a pie or it can be used in any recipe that calls for pie dough.

1. Lightly flour your surface and place your chilled dough on top.|
2. Roll out it several times back and forth in one direction. Then rotate it 45 degrees, and roll again. Rotating the dough as you are rolling it out helps maintain the circular shape. 
3. Continue this process until the dough is the right size. You want the pie dough to be about 2-3 inches bigger than your pan. 
4. Gently press the pie dough into your pan. Tuck the excess pie dough around the edges underneath.

5. Then pinch the crust in order to crimp the edges. 

For blind baking, place a piece of parchment into the formed pie dough. Fill with beans or baking weights.  Bake the pie dough at 385 degrees F for ten minutes. 

After ten minutes, remove the parchment and weights and bake an additional eight minutes. 

How to Use Whole Wheat Pie Crust

What to make with your dough. Should you go savory? Sweet? Round pie? Slab Pie? Hand pies? The possibilities are endless. I will share a few of my recent favorites!

Pie pops are a huge success at our place and so good! It seems like a good idea to have single-serving portions, but the truth is, I ate way too many of these, they're that good!

Another favorite of mine is slab pie. I am rarely making pie for just our family. I need a pie that can serve a crowd. Slab pies are perfect for this, and the cherry slab pie was a hit!!

We also really love this chocolate pecan pie. It is one of my husband's favorites. Or...Who am I kidding, he loved every pie I make and each one is his favorite:).

Fruit pies are always a hit and my family loves this blueberry pie that isn't runny and this nectarine and blackberry pie!

In works great in savory pies too, like these ground beef hand pies.

Expert Tips and FAQs

• I like the butter as cold as possible to start. Cut it into chunks and freeze it while getting the rest of the ingredients ready.
• Work quickly so the butter doesn't have a chance to warm up and soften too much.
• Environmental factors affect the texture of the dough. Be sure to adjust the amount of water as needed.
• Storing pie dough in the freezer. You can make it ahead and store for up to one month in the freezer. Wrap it well and store it in an airtight bag to keep it from absorbing any flavors in the freezer.

Can you use whole wheat flour for pastry?

Yes, you can usually swap out regular flour with whole wheat flour. I suggest starting with using a partial wheat mixture made with equal parts all-purpose flour and whole wheat. This ratio will generally work well without affecting the outcome of the dough. Then you can experiment with increasing it to using more whole wheat flour to see if it can be made with more. Just note that in many instances whole wheat flour needs more liquid so you will need to adjust accordingly.

More Pie Crust Recipes and Tips

• Pie
• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour