How to Fit and Crimp a Pie Crust

Pie is America's favorite dessert for a reason. It's comforting, versatile, and a total classic, no matter the time of year. Pie spans the seasons—whether it's peaches and berries in the summer or pumpkin custard in the cooler months. 

Crimping the crust of pastry dough really is as easy as pie, even if it seems a little intimidating at first. Remember that pie is one of the most rustic, homemade desserts out there, so it's not meant to be too perfect. The good news is that no matter what it looks like, it's guaranteed to taste buttery and delicious. Here, we'll share some tips of the trade and provide a step-by-step guide to fit and crimp pie crust for a picture-perfect dessert.

Quick Tips for Easy Pie Fitting and Crimping

• Keep the dough cold and work quickly. You want the butter to be as cold as possible throughout the process so that the crust is flaky and delicious.
• When rolling out the dough, dust the work surface lightly with flour and start rolling from the center, working your way outward. Rotate the circle of dough a bit after each roll. Add more flour as needed if the dough is sticking.
• Roll the dough about 3 inches in diameter larger than the pie dish (for a 9-inch pie dish, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle).
• Leave yourself some excess dough to work with. After fitting the pastry into the pie dish, leave about 1 inch of dough hanging over the rim. This will allow you some room for error when crimping.
• Rotate the pie plate as you crimp. This will make it easier for you to space the designs evenly.

Step-by-Step Method

Follow our technique to fit and crimp a pie crust perfectly every time.

Step 1. Arrange dough over pie plate

Drape the rolled-out dough over the rolling pin, then gently lay it over the pie plate, centering it evenly.

Step 2. Fit dough into pie plate

Using your hands, gently lift the edges of the dough and fit them snuggly into the nooks of the pie dish. Don’t stretch the dough too much or it will shrink as it bakes. Simply let the dough fall into place in the inner creases of the pan.

Step 3. Trim the dough

Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut around the edges of the pastry to remove excess dough. Leave about 1 inch hanging over the edges.

Step 4. Crimp the dough

There are many ways to crimp the edges of a pie crust, but we use two simple techniques most often:

1. Classic finger crimp: Use the thumb and pointer finger of your non-dominant hand and the pointer finger of your dominant hand. Place your non-dominant fingers on the outside of the rim of the pie, and your dominant finger on the inner edge. Press your hands toward each other to meet in the middle. This will create a classic "V-shaped" crimp. You can go as wide or narrow as you like by moving your fingers further apart or closer together, respectively.
2. Fork crimp or crosshatch: Firmly press the tines of a fork into the chilled crust, spacing evenly. You can add a crosshatch pattern by pressing the tines of the fork into the crust perpendicular to the first lines.

Making Pie Crust Ahead of Time

Pie dough needs at least an hour to chill in the refrigerator before it can be rolled out, since it needs time to firm up (Most butter-based pastry doughs will be very messy if rolled out immediately after mixing.) Since the dough can rest and firm up in the refrigerator for one day, it's super easy to make ahead.

Preparing Pie Crust for Baking

Most recipes will call for you to chill the crust once it's been fitted into the pie plate. This can be done in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on where you have space. Either way, freeze until the dough is firm to the touch and no longer warm at all. This usually takes about 10 minutes in the freezer and 30 minutes in the refrigerator.