Here's everything worth knowing about two crust pie pastry and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 20 recipes to cook tonight.

What is two crust pie pastry?

Two crust pie pastry is enough dough for a full double-crust pie: a bottom shell plus a top to seal in the filling.

Most recipes that call for it split the dough into two disks, often a slightly larger one for the bottom and a slightly smaller one for the top.

The basics of mixing and resting the dough are the same as any pie dough. What sets a two-crust pie apart is everything you do with that second piece: rolling the lid, venting it, sealing the crusts together, and finishing the top.

Those are the techniques this page is about.

Working the Top Crust

Roll the top into a round about 11 to 12 inches across for a standard 9-inch pie, so it drapes over the mounded filling with overhang to spare. Roll it on a lightly floured surface and keep the dough cold; a warm top crust tears and shrinks.

A solid lid needs a way for steam to escape, or it puffs and the filling boils over the edge. Cut four or five short slits in the center with a sharp knife, or punch a few small holes, before the pie goes in the oven.

McCalls Brown Sugar Apple Pie and Old Fashioned Raisin Pie both rely on these vents to keep the top flat and the filling from blowing out.

A lattice is the prettier alternative. Cut the rolled top into strips ½ to ¾ inch wide, lay half of them across the pie in one direction, then weave the rest over and under at right angles.

An open lattice vents on its own, so it suits a juicy fruit filling like Raspberry-Peach Pie where you want some moisture to cook off.

Sealing and Finishing the Top

Sealing is where double-crust pies are won or lost. Trim the bottom crust to the pan edge and leave the top crust with about ½ inch of overhang, then fold that overhang under the bottom edge and press the two into a raised rim.

Brushing a little water between the layers first helps them grip.

Then crimp. Pinch the rim between a thumb and two fingers for the classic fluted wall, or press it flat with the tines of a fork.

A good seal is structural, not just decorative. It locks the steam in until the vents release it and keeps a bubbling fruit filling from leaking out the side.

Finish the top for color and gloss. An egg wash, one egg beaten with a splash of water or milk, gives the deepest golden brown.

Milk or cream alone browns more softly, and a sprinkle of coarse sugar over the wash adds sparkle and crunch. Apple Pie with Raisin & Pecan and Apple Raisin Crumb Pie show how a glazed lid reads as bakery-finished.

The most common failure is a soggy bottom. A wet filling under a sealed lid steams the lower crust before it can set, so bake on a preheated baking sheet on the lower rack, and brush the inside of the bottom shell with egg white to waterproof it.

When to Use a Double Crust

A two-crust pie is the right call whenever the filling needs to be enclosed and a little contained. Juicy fruit pies are the obvious case, but savory pies use the same build: Garden Harvest Chicken Pie and Favourite Crawfish Pie both seal a saucy filling under a full top.

Skip the second crust for custard or cream pies, which set into a sliceable filling on their own and only need a single shell. A lid over a custard would trap steam and weep. Reach for two crusts when you have something loose and flowing to hold in.

Buying and Storage

Refrigerated boxed pie crusts are sold in pairs for exactly this job; one box gives you a top and a bottom. They are a fair shortcut, though a homemade all-butter dough bakes up flakier and tastes better.

Raw pastry keeps well. Wrap the disks tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months; thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge before rolling so it stays cold but pliable.

A fully baked two-crust pie holds at room temperature for a day or two if the filling is fruit. Refrigerate anything with egg, dairy, meat, or seafood, and bring fruit pies back to crisp with 10 minutes in a 350°F (175°C) oven.

Quick facts

In Chinese

2地壳饼糕点

British (UK) term

Two crust pie pastry

en français

deux croûte pâte à tarte

en español

dos corteza de pastelería pastel

Recipes using two crust pie pastry

There are 20 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 20 recipes