Wham Bam Pie Crust (+Video)
Wham Bam Pie Crust is the easiest pie crust ever! No rolling pins, no cold butter and no fuss but you still get a tender and flaky pie crust!
THE EASIEST AND FLAKIEST PIE CRUST
I like frozen pie crusts. Many of them are really good these days since many companies have really stepped up the quality of ingredients. But sometimes I want to use my own pie pans instead of the one that comes with the frozen crusts. And sometimes, that rustic look of a totally homemade pie just does something to me. I love the look of an imperfect, golden, flaky crust that has been crimped by my fingers
NO ROLLING PIN, NO COLD BUTTER, NO TRICKS
But I need that crust to be easy to make. This crust is perfect for any one-crust pie. Like my Brown Sugar Pumpkin Pie, Southern Pecan Pie or Strawberry Pie. Or even for savory pies like Country Tomato Bacon Pie. It’s called Wham Bam because you don’t have to worry about cutting in cold butter or shortening like you do normal pie crusts or add in super cold ice water.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE EASIEST PIE CRUST
There is no rolling out of the dough (unless you really want to.) You stir it together and push it around with your fingers into the pie pan. It takes just a bit of time to spread it all around. But keep in mind, it’s the bottom part of your pie crust, it doesn’t have to be showcase beautiful. It’s very forgiving. But it’s also tender and flaky and bakes up to a beautiful golden color. Also, if you can find it, use White Lily brand flour. It is amazing in baked goods!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- all-purpose flour – I prefer White Lily brand flour – it will always be my favorite but I know it’s not easy to find outside of the the southern United States so just go with your personal favorite here – also, you cannot use self-rising flour in this recipe
- salt – this gives it a bit of flavor without tasting salty and works well with sweet pies
- vegetable oil – it seems like a strange ingredient in pie crust, you’d expect butter or shortening right? But trust me, it absolutely works! I have not used other oils but you want to use an oil with a neutral flavor because you don’t want to taste the oil in the pie crust
HOW TO MAKE WHAM BAM PIE CRUST:
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in oil and water.
Mix until combined. Then form it into a ball.
Spray your pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. It’s not really necessary but I just want to doubly make sure there is no sticking and it makes this dough just a bit easier to spread in the dish.
Now, start pushing down on your ball of dough and begin spreading it towards the sides.
Do as best as you can to evenly pull it up the sides. You’ll want plenty of dough up the sides too so you can crimp it at the top edge.
You can even get in there with your knuckles if you need to.
This is very forgiving dough. See that little tear there where I pulled the dough a little too hard?
Just smush around the dough with your thumb or fingers. It’ll seal right back up.
Make sure you also press down into the bottom rim of the pan too to spread out the dough and so it’s not too thick.
And then you can start to go around and crimp the top edges of the crust.
Now, this does not have to be perfect. I don’t know about you, but I like those little imperfections in baking.
It lets folks know you made this all yourself. It’s rustic and it’s homemade. It should look that way. It bakes up beautifully golden and tender and flaky. It makes the perfect base for any of your one crust pies. And even the least-experienced of bakers can manage this easy and forgiving crust.
TO PRE-BAKE: Poke crust with a fork, all over the inside of the crust (so it doesn’t puff up too much while baking). Or if you have beans, you can line your crust on top with foil and then put beans inside to weigh it down to keep it from puffing up. Then bake at 400F degrees for about 10-15 minutes (maybe a tad longer). It should be golden in color.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: September 2012
Updated & republished: October 2019
Wham Bam Pie Crust (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt.
- Stir in oil and water. Mix until combined.
- Then form it into a ball. It will be thick.
- Spray a standard pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Put the ball of dough in the middle of your pie dish.
- Start pushing down on the dough ball and begin spreading it towards the sides. Do as best as you can to evenly pull it up the sides. This will take a few minutes
- You'll want plenty of dough up the sides too so you can crimp it at the top edge. You can even get in there with your knuckles if you need to.
- Make sure you also press down into the bottom rim of the pan too to spread out the dough and so it’s not too thick.
- Then you can start to go around and crimp the top edges of the crust.
- Once it’s ready, fill with your favorite filling and bake according to your pie recipe directions.
Video
Notes
- If you are using this crust in a recipe that calls for a pre-baked pie crust. Before baking, just make sure you use a fork and prick lots of little holes all over the crust. This will keep the crust from puffing up too much while baking.
- Remember, this does not have to be perfect. It’s a bottom-only pie crust.
It’s rustic and it’s homemade. It should look that way.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
What temperature and how long do you bake pie shell? Didn't see in recipe.
I make a pie crust that is so similar to your recipe. It's the best.
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Add to a measuring cup, but do not stir:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
Pour all at once into flour mixture. Stir just until combined.
Roll out between two sheets of waxed paper.
It's perfect all the time!
Thank you so much for this pie crust recipe. I have avoided homemade pie crusts for years, but I really wanted to make a homemade pie crust for my Big Mom's sweet potato pie. I tried your recipe this afternoon and it worked! The crust tasted delicious, light, and flaky. I still need work on making the sides look pretty, but the taste is dyno-mite!
I can't wait to try this pie crust recipe, LOVE all your recipes!
One question, What time/temp would you use for pre-baking this crust?
Thanks a bunch..
So happy you like this one!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! It was direly needed, believe me!
I'm all in favor of simple. I make an olive oil and buttermilk crust that's as easy as this and perfect for savory tarts.
No more Crisco messes! Yay! I'm so excited to try this in the fall! Thank you! I never used a rolling pin anyway, but this means Crisco is for cookies only now. Yay!
Oooh this looks nice and easy. Would you add a little sugar to the dough if you were making a sweet pie?
Yum! That looks beautiful & so easy! Not that a rolled crust is difficult, but I really do hate rolling them.. haha.
Thanks!
Thank you! I've never tried to make a pie crust but I'm going to pin this one and give it a go next time I make a pie!
Have you ever tried to make the crust with melted butter? I have a thing for butter in the crust, guess I can try it.
I tried your Salisbury Steak Recipe and it is to die for!!! It will become a regular here.
Yum yum…oh how I LOVE this!
I always find it difficult to make a good crust, so I just buy it (shame on me:))
I found this on Pinterest this morning, and ran out to my local farmers market to get strawberries to make strawberry pie, I am so excited! Thanks for the recipe! It worked perfect!!
I got this recipe from my mom who got it from her mom, that goes back at least 75 years! If you want to roll it out, use two sheets of wax paper. After it is rolled out, loosen the top sheet and replace, then flip and remove the bottom sheet. Use the loosened sheet to lift, flip and place the crust, then just pull it off. I use this crust for all kinds of pies including meat pies.
just enjoy all comments. Thanks so much
Great tip!!
I LOVE your blog and all your recipes, yep I am a facebook follower also, I do have a question about the crust I see you are using all purpose flour….as opposed to using self rising flour, is it all purpose flour that is the trick to making the crust?? I have tried some things before that I seen had all purpose flour, and because I would generally use self rising since that is what was in my pantry…I would love to know when is it Essential to use all purpose flour?
Hi Bluegrass, self rising flour has other ingredients in it so you can cut back on the ingredients you must add. However, these ingred.( baking soda, baking powder, etc) are not needed for pie crust. Bread flour uses several different grains so as to combine their proteins for better, finer textured bread. All purpose flour is just that, used for most purposes. Simplified. While this is not complete info, I do hope it helps.
Brandie, this is perfect! I can make a pie crust but it always looks ugly and when I try to fix it, well, lets just say I don't make a lot of pies, lol. Can't wait to give this a try. Pinned.
I have never made a proper homemade pie crust. Ever. I made this and I am SO proud of myself. I am not a great baker and I rarely make things like this. But I did it and it was GOOD! Thank you so much Brandie. Honestly. Thank you! You made me feel like a superstar this weekend and not feel bad because I’ve never made a decent pie crust in my life. LOL.
I love how easy this looks! Maybe I'll make pie more often now that I've found your easy crust recipe. Pinned!
Have a great week! 🙂
I am totally addicted to your blog!! Being a busy mother/grandmother/chief cook and bottle washer (LOL)..it helps to have someone out there that can share tips and recipes to make my life a little easier. After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year,it's been a little difficult to have the energy and enthusiasm that I once had, but your blog makes me smile and gives me that little "umph" to get busy! Thank you and God bless…
Lisa, I totally agree. I have Sjogrens Syndrome (sister to Lupus) and Fibro and most recipes are too complicated and time consuming, making cooking/baking almost impossible these days. Since I've discovered this blog, I'm addicted! It takes complicated and makes it much more simple and they don't take forever to prepare. So Country Cook, thank you, for finding short cuts that still produce wonderful food but don't consume all my energy. God bless you and keep those recipes coming. Thank you so much.
I want to ask what medication you are on with the Sjogrens Syndrom.
I also have this and find it can be very debilating at times.
Thank’s.
I’m very excited to try your pie crust recipe.
Would love to also try the apple pie.
I really love your blog.
Now that is a crust even I can get with..thank you for sharing it with us all. Btw, since I've discovered your blog, I can't stop reading it. I love the simplicity of your recipes, the ease of how they come together especially for a full time working mother and wife, girl scout leader ect and how delicious they are..Keep 'em coming. Now that apple picking is under way in the Hudson Valley, NY, this pie dough recipe will come in handy!! Pls. share that apple crumble recipe asap. lol
Jackie
Lisa, it just depends on what you are filling it with. Apple Pie – no. Strawberry Pie – yes. For recipes that call for a pre-baked pie crust, you will need to prick the crust with a fork so it doesn't puff up like crazy while baking. Hope that helps!
Thank you!
Do you have to pre bake the crust?
You only bake the crust blind if you are using a cold or pre-cooked fillling.
What do you mean by the word blind? I am making a homemade chocolate pecan pie(2). So I am thinking not pre-cooked??
Blind baking is when you pre bake the pie shell and usually use pie weights while pre baking it. But since you're making pecan pies and they usually take a long time to bake you do not have to pre bake your pie crust.
Oh Lisa ((hugs)), you bless me with your kind words. My own Momma has fibromyalgia and I understand the challenges of "energy" since I have a lupus-like autoimmune disorder and my joints give me troubles some days along with no energy. It lifts me up to know that these recipes make it just a bit easier for busy folks. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Mamamia – hope you like this crust recipe and thank you so much for pinning!
Will this recipe work if I want to roll it out to make the strips for the top of a minced meat pie?
Thank you so much Jackie! That really means the world to me to hear! The Apple Pie recipe is coming up on Wednesday. I hope you love it if you give it a try! 🙂
Do you bake this crust first then add the pecan filling and bake again or do I make the crust then add the filling and bake. All at once
Bruce, Always add ingredients to rolled out pie crust and then bake.
Can you roll this wham bam pie crust? Instead of paying it?
Of course you can! 🙂