Flaky and Buttery Buckwheat Pie Crust Recipe

4 from 2 votes

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

resting time1

Course: grains

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Fat, Low Salt, Vegetarian

Keyword: buckwheat, pie dough

Servings: shells

Cost: $5

1 cup buckwheat flour
½ cup rice flour
¾ cup tapioca flour
½ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons chilled or frozen butter chilled for using a food processor, frozen for the grater method.
¾ cup ice water more as needed

Add the dry ingredients to your food processor and pulse several times to blend.
Cut the butter into ½-inch chunks and add them to the food processor.
Pulse several times to break up the butter into pea-sized pieces. Be sure to work quickly to ensure the butter stays chilled.
Add in the ice water and pulse again several times to incorporate. If it looks a little shaggy, don't stress. Pinch the dough. If it sticks together, there is enough water. If not, add in a few more tablespoons until it does. It might still look a little shaggy, don't stress.
Pour the dough out onto your surface and knead gently a few times until it all comes together.
Divide the dough in half, wrap it in saran wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
Grate the FROZEN butter on your box grater. Work quickly to ensure it stays frozen/chilled.
Add the grated butter to your dry ingredients and mix with a fork.
Pour in the ice water and mix. It will look like a shaggy mess, as to be expected.
Turn it out onto your surface and knead it a few times, if it feels dry, add in a few more tablespoons of water.
Divide the dough in half and wrap it in saran wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours before using.

This is an all-butter crust- I love the flavor. While most bakers insist on unsalted butter, myself included for many years after graduating from culinary school and working in the industry. However, the reality of feeding a full crew, I have come to realize for the average person, both unsalted and salted work really well. So, grab whatever you have on hand. Vegan butter will also work.

Speaking of butter, be sure it is chilled (for using the food processor), and frozen for making the pie dough by hand. Keeping that butter very cold until it hits the oven is vital to a flaky crust. You only want those chunks of butter to melt between the layers IN THE OVEN.

If you have made the buckwheat flour yourself, the instructions below, make sure it is cooled before using.

Buckwheat flour contains no gluten, so it is a little tricky to work with. Be a little more gentle than you would with regular pie dough when you are rolling it out.