4 Pie Crust Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

4 Pie Crust Mistakes and How to Avoid Them is a must-read for anyone who’s ever pulled a disappointing crust out of the oven. Working with pie dough can be tricky, but with the right tricks and techniques, you can create consistently flaky, golden results every time. Whether you’re making classic apple fruit pies or smooth custard pies, understanding how to work with your ingredients, control gluten, and manage baking time will help you avoid common pitfalls like tough dough, shrinkage, or dreaded soggy bottoms. With a few adjustments, you can transform your crust from fragile or dense to crisp, buttery perfection. With these tips, all of your pie crust recipes will come out great!

Below are the four most common pie crust mistakes I see—and exactly how to fix them.

Crust Turns Out Tough

A tough crust is one of the most frequent sources of disappointment in pie baking. The most common culprit is overworking the dough. When you mix too much, you develop excess gluten, which creates a similar structure to bread and makes pie crust dense and chewy instead of light and flaky.

Using a food processor can help cut butter into the flour quickly, creating small, even pieces without overmixing. Alternatively, you can work by hand, stopping as soon as the ingredients come together into clumps. Add liquid slowly—a tablespoon at a time—and stop once the dough holds together. Overhydrating leads to sticky dough and overdeveloped gluten, so less is more.

When rolling, handle the dough as little as possible. Use a well-floured rolling pin and work from the center outward, rotating the dough as you go to prevent sticking and overhandling.

Crust Shrinks in the Pan

Few things are more frustrating than watching a beautifully shaped crust slide down the sides of the pie pan while baking. Shrinkage usually happens when the dough rest is skipped or rushed. If the pie dough hasn’t had time to relax, the gluten will pull back like an elastic band in the oven.

The solution is simple: after shaping the crust, place it in the fridge for at least one hour or, ideally, overnight. This dough chill allows the gluten to relax fully, preventing shrinkage and cracks.

When fitting the dough into the pan, ease it in gently instead of stretching. Any stretch you create before baking will snap back later. Chill again before baking to firm up the butter and help the crust hold its shape. Preheat the oven to 375°F–400°F so the crust sets quickly before it can slump.

Crust Is Dry or Crumbly

A crumble-prone crust is often the result of not adding enough liquid, not using enough butter, or failing to distribute it evenly throughout the dough. Using too much flour while rolling can also dry the dough out, leading to cracks when transferring it to the pie pan or when sealing the seam between the bottom and top crust.

The fix: add enough ice water to bring the dough together without making it sticky. The dough should hold its shape when squeezed but shouldn’t feel wet. Make sure to cut the butter evenly into the flour—those pockets of fat are what create tender layers and rich flavor during baking. And while rolling, dust your surface lightly with flour, but don’t overdo it. If the dough starts to crack, use your scraps like patches to seal small tears before baking.

Bottom Crust Is Soggy

Ah, the dreaded soggy crusts—especially common in fruit pie. Juicy fillings release a lot of liquid, and if the crust isn’t properly prepped, you’ll end up with a damp, limp base.

The best way to prevent soggy bottoms is to blind bake your crust. Line the shaped crust with parchment, fill it with beans or pie weights, and bake for about 15 minutes. Then remove the weights and parchment and bake for another 10–15 minutes until the surface looks dry and set. This two-step baking time firms up the base, helping it stand up to wet fillings.

Let the crust cool fully before adding your filling—especially for custard pies, where a warm crust can cause the custard to separate or soak in. For fruit pies, consider brushing the base with beaten egg white or a thin layer of melted chocolate to create a moisture barrier before adding the filling. Rolling the crust slightly thinner also ensures it bakes through evenly and turns beautifully golden brown.

There are also other issues that can happen. These are just some mains ones.

For example, in the following picture, the pie cracked in the middle because the top crust was overworked, rolled too thin, and stretched too much when placed over the filling. As it baked, the dough tightened and lost elasticity, causing tension that led to the split down the center.

Final Thoughts

Making great pie crust isn’t about perfection—it’s about understanding the ingredients, handling the dough gently, and trusting the process. By knowing these 4 Pie Crust Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, your pie should come out great every time! All you need to do is manage gluten development, chill the dough properly, blind bake when necessary, and keep an eye on baking time.

Whether you’re making apple pie, classic fruit pies, or delicate custard pies, these foundational recipes and techniques will help you say goodbye to tough crusts and soggy bottoms for good.

Check out my Easy Pie Crust for a go to pie crust recipe. I also use this tart crust a lot! For other easier recipes try out this Oreo Crust or Graham Cracker Crust.