Whole Wheat Pie Crust Recipe
This whole wheat pie crust recipe is a very simple recipe to make. It comes together quickly and there are only about a million different things you can do with it.
Since this is a basic dough, there are tons of things you can make with it. If you will be making a pie, you could add cinnamon or another complementary spice to the dough, and use olive or safflower oil.
If you are making something savory, like the Pesto Quiche With Sun Dried Tomatoes I made a little while back, then try mixing in some Italian spice or garlic into the dough, and use olive oil.
Pie crust doesn’t have to be boring. You just have to get creative. But stay light on the spices so they don’t overpower what you are filling the crust with! About 1/2 tsp. per batch of dough. This extra spice should compliment the finished dish, not overwhelm it.
The great thing about pie crusts is once they are filled, you can pretty much freeze any recipe you’ve made to keep on hand for one of those busy work nights. Or, just freeze the dough in the pie tin if you prefer a more “fresh” approach. Fill it last minute, pop it in the oven, and you’ve got a quick meal any day of the week!
What Pie Filling Goes Well With This Crust?
This is truly an all-purpose crust. It’s versatile and will hold just about anything. Because it’s not a butter crust, the texture is more of a crumby crust than a flaky crust. But it makes super delicious pies just the same, and it’s a perfect pie crust for quiches as well. Avoid the urge to add butter, shortening, or lard. It won’t work well with this recipe.
So what can you put in this? Here are some suggestions:
- Apple pie
- Blueberry pie
- Pecan pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Quiche
- Cherry pie
- Raspberry pie
- Pumpkin pie
- Cranberry pie
- Banana cream pie
- Chocolate cream pie
- Coconut meringue pie
- Fresh strawberry pie
Vegan Pie Crust Recipe
If you want to turn this into a vegan pie crust, it’s super easy! I’ve made it both ways and it turns out super well either way. Simply substitute the regular milk for unsweetened almond milk and you’re good to go!
Should You Cook This Pie Crust Before Filling It?
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to do so. It may not need it for some recipes, but for most, it’s a good idea so that the bottom of the crust doesn’t stay soggy under a wet filling. You can even use pie weights if you wish, though I have never found them to be necessary with this recipe.
To Bake This Crust
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, or until you see a change in color. It won’t get golden brown in just those few minutes, but that’s okay. Just bake it until the middle seems at least mostly cooked if not fully cooked. The timing can vary by oven.
How Many Pie Crusts Does This Recipe Make?
In general, this recipe will make approximately two 8 or 9-inch pie crusts. You may have a little dough left over. I usually make a small hand pie out of any leftovers.
Can I Make This Dough In A Stand Mixer Or Food Processor?
Stand Mixer – You can absolutely blend this in a stand mixer using a dough hook.
Food Processor – If your food processor comes with a dough hook, then you can use that too. If it doesn’t, I would avoid it. Simply place everything in the bowl of a food processor with the proper attachment and mix.
About The Ingredients
Whole wheat pastry flour – Plus extra on reserve. Regular whole wheat flour is too dense for this recipe, and all-purpose flour is not clean. If you cannot find the pastry version, then look for “white whole wheat flour”. It’s the next best thing after whole wheat pastry flour, and it’s more readily available in most places.
Salt – I used pink Himalayan salt, but you can use whatever salt you normally bake or cook with. Fine sea salt or kosher salt works well.
Oil – I usually use liquid coconut oil. But any light-flavored oil will work.
Milk – Any type except coconut milk – it’s too thick.
How To Make Whole Wheat Pie Crust
First, prepare your pie tins. Spray your tin with a coat of spray-on oil from an oil sprayer, or use your fingers or a paper towel to spread the oil over the pan.Add about ⅛ cup whole wheat pastry flour to your tin from your reserve flour (not from the 2¾ cups for the crust)Shake your tin around until the flour completely coats the surface of the pie pan. Then set it aside.Next, make the dough.
Put flour and salt into a mixing bowl and mix.
Measure your milk and oil into the same cup.
Knead the mixture well, by hand, until you have a firm dough. It takes some doing, so don’t give up.
Place your dough on a large piece of parchment paper. Flatten slightly with your hands or rolling pin, and then place another large sheet of parchment paper over the top so the dough is sandwiched in between. Roll with your rolling pin until your dough is about ⅛ inch to ¼ inch thick.
You may need to lift the parchment occasionally or flip the whole thing over to get rid of wrinkles in the parchment. Remove the top sheet of parchment, and roll out any wrinkles left in the dough by the parchment. You should have a nice, even, and smooth piece of dough. Divide your dough in half.
Place your tin upside down on your dough. Flip the whole thing over, and mold the dough into your tin, being careful not to rip the dough.
Cut the excess dough around the edge of the pan. Keep your knife upright so you get a nice even cut. Crimp with a fork, and then place the whole thing in a large zip lock bag. Place in the freezer and you’ve got whole wheat Pie Crust any time you need it!
Ta-da! The finished pie crust.
How To Store Whole Wheat Pie Crust
This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days if packed well. After that, you’ll want to freeze it. In either case, wrap it well. I usually store mine in a zipper-top food storage bag that I press air out of before zipping it up. If you make multiple crusts, you can freeze them stacked if you wish, but put a piece of parchment or plastic wrap between them.
Recipe Supplies
For this recipe, you’ll need a standard pie pan, a rolling pin, and a mixing bowl. You can click on any of the images here to be taken to that product on Amazon. (Affiliate links)
Holiday Pie Recipes
Whole Wheat Pie Crust Recipe Card
Adapted from a recipe found on AllRecipes that no longer exists on their site.
Whole Wheat Pie Crust Recipe
Equipment
- Standard pie pan
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (affiliate link) plus extra on reserve
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup milk (any type except coconut milk – it’s too thick)
Instructions
- First, prepare your pie tins.Spray your tin with a coat of spray-on oil from an oil sprayer, or use your fingers or a paper towel to spread the oil over the pan.Add about ⅛ cup whole wheat pastry flour to your tin from your reserve flour (not from the 2¾ cups for the crust)Shake your tin around until the flour completely coats the surface of the pie pan. Then set it aside.Next, make the dough.
- Put flour and salt into a mixing bowl and mix.
- Measure your milk and oil into the same cup.
- Mix well by hand until you have a firm dough. It takes some doing, so don’t give up.
- Place your dough on a large piece of parchment paper. Flatten slightly with your hands or rolling pin, and then place another large sheet of parchment paper over the top so the dough is sandwiched in between. Roll with your rolling pin until your dough is about ⅛ inch to ¼ inch thick. You may need to lift the parchment occasionally or flip the whole thing over to get rid of wrinkles in the parchment.Remove the top sheet of parchment, and roll out any wrinkles left in the dough by the parchment. You should have a nice, even, and smooth piece of dough. Divide your dough in half.
- Place your tin upside down on your dough. Flip the whole thing over, and mold the dough into your tin, being careful not to rip the dough.
- Cut the excess dough around the edge of the pan. Keep your knife upright so you get a nice even cut. Crimp with a fork, and then place the whole thing in a large zip lock bag. Place in the freezer and you’ve got whole wheat Pie Crust any time you need it!
- Ta da!
Can you use melted butter instead of oil?
Sure.
Interesting. Maybe it’s a regional thing? I don’t have anything here on the market with those names. But thank you for the information!
Read through all the comments and even through some of your recipes using this crust. Do you not have to prebake it??
I never prebake this crust. I just fill the pie raw and bake everything at the same time.
Something is off. Perhaps you are at a different altitude than me and need to adjust the liquid? What type of flour did you use? This isn’t the softest dough ever, but it’s nothing like what you are describing either.
Hmmm…. how much cinnamon did you use? It’s possible that there was just enough to make the dough dry. Cinnamon can soak up some liquid if there’s enough of it. That, or something was measured incorrectly.
You can, but the crust will be much more dense and dry.
Use the same amount of oil regardless of what type you use. You could try 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Whatever you use, keep the spices in smaller portions because you only want a hint of flavor. You don’t want it to overtake whatever you fill the crust with.
Can I use a glass pie pan?
It should work just fine.
Interesting. I love it with pie! But it’s all individual tastes. I hope you’ll enjoy it with a savory dish.
Can I subsitute a different flour (oat or almond, etc.) instead of the whole wheat pastry flour?
Oat flour would work.
But you might have to adjust the liquid content slightly.
I did not have enough for 3 pies, it was very flaky and had to add water to keep it together. Any advice?
Did you use a different type of flour? Perhaps you are at a different altitude. Adding more liquid was the correct thing to do. Let me know how it turns out.
I am about to embark on making this pie crust. I am going to half it and add ground flax seed to it. If all goes well, next time I am going to substitute the whole wheat flour for a combination of gluten free flours.
Do you have to mix by hand? I’m so used to making dough in the food processor. I’m also very new to clean eating, so why can’t you use pastured butter from cows not treated with antibiotics or hormones?
Debi – I’m sure it would work just fine with a paddle, and you can use butter, but this recipe really isn’t formulated for that. So you may have to adjust the other ingredients. Not sure as I’ve never tried.
Can you use applesause to replace oil?
Not for this. Sorry.
I am doing the clean eat diet and was wondering if I can use sprouted whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour? If not, how about half&half of each? Also would walnut oil work?
Lauren – Yes to both, although, with the different flour, the crust will be a bit more dense. But good just the same!
So glad to see this! My 10 year old son loves pastries (meat and potato pies – native to Cornwall and Upper Peninsula Michigan) but we have had a difficult time finding a healthy crust — mostly hydrogenated vegetable shortening. He was so sad to see the ingredients… the boy is a voracious label reader! This will be a good starting point for creating the perfect “clean” recipe… unless you would like to do that for us!?
Sue C – I’m a little confused. What is it you want a recipe for? Does this recipe not work for you somehow?
I’m looking for a clean recipe for a pasty. (Cornish meat and potato pie) not pastries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty
Where we live in Michigan, they are quite famous in our Upper Penninsula.
We ate several on vacation and are trying to create a clean recipe to make at home.
This will get me the crust portion of the meat and potato pie I think.
They are not baked in a pie pan, but rather on a cookie sheet, when filled, folded over, edges sealed. Next up the filling. I think the crust will be the hardest part, so I was happy to find this.
Sorry for the confusion.
Sue C – Interesting! I’ve never heard of it, but I’ll certainly give it a try. 🙂
Has anyone tried freezing the dough in a disc wrapped in Saran Wrap vs already rolled out in the tin? Just thinking its easier to store and takes up less room.
Thanks.
Laurie – I haven’t, I’m sorry. But you could give it a shot!
Hi there!
What adjustments would I need to make of I use plain whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour?
I read that the pastry kind is more finely ground. Could I just grind it a bit more in a magic bullet before using it?
Thank you
Tracy – Grinding it won’t work. WWF and WWPF are actually made from two different types of wheat. To be honest, if there are any adjustments to be made, I don’t know them. I never adjust the measurements when I substitute either way. I just use the same amounts across the board. I’ve never had a problem with using equal amounts. That said, the regular variety tends to have more gluten and is more dense and coarse. So that’s what you will get in your finished product as well. If you plan on doing that with this particular pie crust recipe, you should be fine with equal amounts. Pie crusts tend to be pretty forgiving.
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I made this crust yesterday GF and DF and it was really good! I used a GF flour that I found at my Costco and almond milk. I also used coconut oil instead of olive. I made it for an apple pie and it worked wonderfully. I was able to make 2 pie bottoms and then I crumbled up the rest, mixed it with some maple sugar and cinnamon and it was awesome. My dough was very firm and didn’t stick together well, but I was able to press it into the pan and be ok. It also didn’t really hold it’s shape once cut and served, but who cares? It was delicious! (It was served with a vegan carmel sauce I found a recipe for and “cleaned” up) Thanks for the recipe! Will be making again, very soon!
Shannon – Glad it all worked out! Thanks for sharing your experience! 🙂