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How to Make a Braided Pie Crust
Braids are one of the most stunning ways to decorate a pie crust. They take extra dough, time, and patience, but the result is well worth the effort. If you plan to use this method to form your pie crust, you’ll need to make some extra pie dough, approximately double the recipe for a 9-10” pie shell. These directions are for a classic 3-strand braided pie crust, but you can experiment with other braid styles for unique designs
To follow this guide, you’ll want two batches of pastry-style pie crust such as a flaky all-butter pie dough, and you’ll want to have one batch rolled out and ready to fit into your pie tin for shaping.
This guide is for how to use cookie cutters to make decorative edges for your pie crusts. If you’re looking for something else, here are other pie crust edges we have guides for:
- Easiest Ways to Finish a Pie Crust (Beginner)
- Decorative Pie Dough Cutouts (Intermediate)
- Leaf Edge (Advanced)
- Rolled, Fluted, or Crimped Pie Crust (Advanced)
Note: This post covers how to form pie shells (think pumpkin pie or pecan pie) for pies without a top crust.
What Will I Need to Make a Braided Pie Crust?
- 2 batches of All-Butter Pie Crust: You’ll need enough pie crust to fit pie dough into your pie tin, and also have enough left over to make the pie dough cutouts.
- 1 Egg: To make the cutouts stick to the pie crust, you’ll need some egg wash. To make egg wash, whisk together 1 large egg and 1 tablespoon of water.
- Pastry Brush (optional): A pastry brush will make it easier to apply the egg wash to the pie dough. However, if you don’t have one, you can use a finger dipped in the egg wash.
- 5-Wheel Pastry Cutter: To cut long, even strips of dough for your braid. These look like this.
Quick Tips on Forming Pie Crusts
There are a few general tips that make shaping pie crusts a little bit easier.
- Exaggerate the Shape of the Crust: Pie crust almost always loses some of it’s shape as it bakes. As the pie bakes, the crust begins to revert back towards its original shape. Exaggerating the shape, more defined flutes, deeper ridges, etc., while forming the crust helps it retain its shape after baking. If you’re baking a pie where the intricacy of the design matters, you can help the crust retain its shape better by reducing the proportion of butter in the pie dough. However, you’ll be trading some of the flakiness for detail.
- Freeze Your Pie Crust: Freezing your pie crust before baking and baking the pie crust from frozen helps it retain its shape better while baking as well. Freezing the pie dough before baking it keeps the butter solid until it’s baked creating flakier layers. Additionally, pastry dough shrinks less when it’s baked from frozen.
Fitting Pie Dough Into a Pie Tin
Before following this tutorial, you should already have rolled out a batch of pie dough. If you haven’t, you can follow my recipe for all-butter pie dough here, or my tutorial for rolling out pie dough here. You should also have a second batch of pie dough ready to go for the second part of this tutorial.
Start by taking your round of rolled pie dough out of the refrigerator. It should feel cool to the touch but still flexible; it should be fairly firm but not so cold that it cracks when bent. If you chose to freeze our pie dough in advance, let it rest until it becomes malleable, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Once the dough is at a good temperature, center the round of dough over your pie tin and adjust it until it’s evenly positioned. Some tutorials suggested wrapping the dough around your rolling pin to transfer it, but if the dough is at the right temperature, it should be sturdy enough to pick it up and move it directly.
Once centered, gently guide the dough into the corners of the pie tin. Lift the edges slightly with one hand while sliding the dough downward. Avoid stretching or pulling the dough. This will cause the dough to contract while baking and cause the crust to slump into the tin. After fitting the dough fully into the tin, run your fingers along the inside to smooth out the inner crease.
Now your crust is ready to be formed! If the dough has softened while fitting it into the pan, return it to the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm back up before forming.
Rolling the Edge of Your Pie Crust
Before you can make this pie crust design, first you need to roll the edge of the crust. It may take a little practice to build the muscle memory down, but it’s well worth it when you do! A rolled edge opens up a whole world of decorative pie crust designs.
How to Roll a Pie Crust Edge
1.
Start by fitting your pie dough round into your pie tin.
2.
Trim the overhang with a pair of kitchen scissors so that there is about 1” of extra dough all the way around.
3.
At the far edge of the pie (directly across from your body), lift the overhang with both hands.
4.
Fold the dough under itself at a 45° angle towards your dominant hand.
5.
Begin twisting, rolling the dough under itself, like a rope, so that the roll sits right on the edge of the pie tin.
6.
Continue rolling all the way around the pie.
7.
When the two ends meet in a triangle, pinch it flat with your fingers and tuck the excess underneath.
8.
Go back around the crust, and slightly press down the rolled edge. The braid will sit on top of this rope.
Note: If your crust slumps inwards while baking, you may be pulling the dough too hard as you roll. Avoid stretching the dough out of the pan and roll gently.
Step By Step Header Text
This method takes practice, so don’t be discouraged if your first attempt isn’t picture-perfect. Over time, your braided pie crust will look cleaner and more even.
1.
Roll out the second batch of your pie dough in a long rectangle about 2.5” wide and about 12” long until the dough is about 2mm thick. Transfer to a flat surface such as a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and let chill for 15-30 minutes.
2.
Using a 5-wheel pastry cutter, cut the chilled dough into long strips about ¼” wide. You should have at least 9 strips.
3.
Braid the strips into three 3-strand braids (see photos). You’ll need a total of about 30” of braid for a standard 9” pie.
4.
Remove the fitted crust with a rolled edge from the refrigerator and brush the rim with egg wash.
5.
Lay the first braid along the rim of the pie crust, pressing gently to secure it into place.
6.
When you reach the end of the braid, join the next braid by tucking and pinching the ends together, then continue around the pie.
7.
Once you’ve circled the entire pie, cut away any excess length, and join the final ends together as neatly as possible.
8.
Transfer your pie crust to the freezer until you’re ready to blind bake.
Note: Don’t stress out over uneven braids. Once baked, slight imperfections tend to blend into the design.
How to Bake a Pie Crust
Once you’ve formed and frozen your pie crust, depending on what kind of pie you’re making, you may need to bake your pie crust. If you’re making any kind of pie that doesn’t need to be baked in the oven, you’ll need to bake your pie crust first. Some classic examples are chocolate cream pie or banana cream pie. Even if you’re making a pie that does need to go back into the oven, like a pecan pie or a pumpkin pie, you might still want to blind-bake your pie crust for an extra crispy crust.
The process for baking a pie crust without any filling inside of the crust is called blind baking. You can find my guide to blind baking pie crust here!
About Me
In 2016, I left my office job and became a professional baker. These days I spend my days testing recipes and baking pies while my two dogs snooze happily nearby.
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