THE FLOURED BENCH
Traditional craft, beautiful possibilities
Flaky, Tender Pie Crust — Three Ways
(Classic • Spelt • Einkorn)
Makes one generously sized crust for a 9½-inch pie. Double the recipe for a double-crust pie.
Flaky • Tender • Buttery • Versatile
A beautifully flaky vegan pie crust with three reliable variations—classic, spelt, and einkorn—so you can choose the flour that best suits your kitchen without sacrificing tenderness or flavor.
This recipe is 100% plant-based.
Some recipes are saved for holidays.
Others quietly become part of the rhythm of everyday life.
This pie crust has become one of those recipes for me.
I’ve always loved pastry. Not the fancy kind meant to be admired from across the table, but the quiet, generous kind that holds something warm inside—pot pies, savory vegetable tarts, fruit pies bursting with summer berries, hand pies tucked into picnic baskets, and rustic galettes that don’t mind imperfect edges. There is something deeply comforting about wrapping good food in pastry and watching it emerge from the oven golden, flaky, and fragrant.
Over the years, I’ve found myself reaching more and more often for heirloom flours.
Long before modern wheat was bred for higher yields and stronger gluten, grains like einkorn and spelt nourished families throughout Europe for thousands of years. Einkorn is believed to be one of the oldest cultivated wheats in the world, while spelt has been treasured for centuries for its wonderful flavor and dependable baking qualities. Both contain gluten, but it is naturally weaker and more delicate than that of modern wheat.
Many people who struggle to digest conventional wheat discover that they tolerate these ancient grains surprisingly well. Every body is different, of course, but if you’ve never baked with einkorn or spelt, I hope you’ll give them a chance. Even if digestion weren’t part of the conversation, their flavor alone would win my heart every time.
Einkorn has a gentle sweetness and a naturally buttery character that makes every crust feel just a little more special. Spelt, especially when it’s finely milled, creates pastry that is wonderfully tender with a warm, almost nutty fragrance. Because pie crust doesn’t depend on strong gluten development the way bread does, these heirloom flours feel perfectly at home here. Their delicate gluten becomes an advantage rather than a limitation, producing pastry that is beautifully flaky and wonderfully tender.
And then there is the butter.
For years I relied on Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter because it brought such beautiful flavor to pastry. A truly good butter is one of the secrets to a memorable pie crust. If you’d like to take this recipe one step further, I hope you’ll try my Sol Canyon Kitchen Everyday Cultured Table Butter. I developed it not only for spreading on warm bread but because I wanted a cultured vegan butter that excelled in baking. It creates the kind of flaky, buttery crust that makes you pause after the first bite—and quietly hope there will still be a slice left tomorrow.
For me, pastry has never been about perfection.
It’s about touch.
About learning when the dough wants another tablespoon of water, when it needs a few more minutes to rest in the refrigerator, and when it’s ready to roll. I still love the feeling of flour dusting the counter, the gentle resistance of the rolling pin, and the quiet satisfaction of crimping the edge by hand. Those small moments never feel ordinary to me.
That is also why this crust became a natural beginning for The Floured Bench. Before I began wandering toward puff pastry, rustic tarts, laminated doughs, and all the other things I wanted to make, I wanted a pie crust I understood and trusted. The Floured Bench begins with traditional pastry craft—with learning what makes a dough work—and then leaves the door open to see where that understanding might lead.
Maybe that is what I love most about returning to the floured bench. Simple ingredients are waiting there, but so are possibilities. A little flour, some beautiful butter, cool water, and our own two hands—and we never quite know what wonderful thing they might become next.
Three flours. Three personalities. One dependable recipe I return to again and again.
Whether it becomes my favorite rhubarb pie, an individual vegetable pot pie, a rustic galette, or an English shepherd’s pie tucked beneath a golden crust, this dough has a way of turning simple ingredients into something deeply comforting.
Maybe that’s why it belongs here, among the recipes in Bread That Holds You Together.
Because sometimes what holds us together isn’t bread at all.
Sometimes it’s a flaky pie crust wrapped around a meal made with love, shared with people we care about, and remembered long after the last slice has disappeared.
INGREDIENTS (Single Crust)
Classic All-Purpose Crust
180 g all-purpose flour (about 1½ cups)
Spelt Crust
180 g spelt flour (Ultra Unifine preferred; about 1½ cups)
Einkorn Crust
180 g Jovial All-Purpose Einkorn Flour (about 1½ cups)
Each version uses the same remaining ingredients.
For All Three Crusts
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
130 g vegan butter, very cold (about ½ cup + 1 tablespoon), cut into small cubes
3–6 tablespoons ice-cold water, as needed
METHOD
Step — Combine the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together:
180 g flour (about 1½ cups), using your chosen flour
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Whisk until evenly combined.
Step 2 — Cut in the Butter
Add:
130 g vegan butter, very cold (about ½ cup + 1 tablespoon), cut into small cubes
Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until the mixture contains sandy crumbs, pea-sized pieces of butter, and a few larger flattened flakes.
Don’t aim for uniformity. Those visible pieces of butter are what create the tender, flaky layers that make a beautiful pie crust.
Step 3 — Add the Water
Begin by drizzling in:
3 tablespoons ice-cold water
Gently toss with a fork or your fingertips.
Continue adding:
Additional ice-cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed
Stop as soon as the dough holds together when you squeeze a handful in your palm.
The dough should still look shaggy and slightly rough rather than smooth or sticky. Depending on the flour you choose, you may need more or less of the full 3–6 tablespoons.
Step 4 — Form & Rest the Dough
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently bring it together without kneading.
Press into a thick disk and wrap well.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or for up to 2 days.
This resting time allows the flour to hydrate while the butter becomes cold and firm again—two important steps toward a tender, flaky crust.
Step 5 — Roll the Dough
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If it feels very firm or cracks immediately when you begin rolling, let it stand at room temperature for 5–10 minutes, just until pliable enough to roll without breaking.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll from the center outward, rotating the dough periodically to help maintain an even circle.
Roll to approximately 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter, about ⅛ inch thick or slightly thicker.
Especially when working with spelt or einkorn, don’t feel that you need to roll the pastry excessively thin just to make it fit. This recipe intentionally gives you a little extra dough for comfortable handling.
Step 6 — Transfer to the Pie Dish
To transfer the pastry without tearing it, gently roll the dough loosely around your rolling pin, then unroll it over the:
9½-inch pie dish
Gently ease the pastry down into the bottom and sides of the dish without stretching it.
Let the dough settle naturally against the dish. Stretching pastry to make it fit can cause it to shrink back during baking.
Step 7 — Trim & Crimp
Leave enough dough extending beyond the edge of the pie dish to create the crust you want.
Trim away the excess, then tuck the edge under itself and crimp or shape as desired.
And remember: those trimmings aren’t scraps.
They’re your chef’s treat.
Chill the shaped crust if directed by your pie recipe, then proceed with par-baking or filling and baking as instructed.
NOTES
Double-Crust Pies
For a double-crust pie, simply double all of the ingredients and divide the dough into two equal disks before chilling.
Grated Butter
If you prefer, freeze the butter until very firm, then grate it on the large holes of a box grater before tossing it with the flour.
It’s a wonderful technique for keeping the butter cold while creating beautifully flaky layers with very little handling.
ABOUT THE FLOUR
Spelt Flour
For the flakiest results, use a finely milled spelt flour whenever possible, such as Azure Standard Ultra Unifine.
Whole-grain spelt absorbs more water and produces a sturdier, more rustic crust.
Einkorn Flour
Einkorn is naturally more delicate and absorbs liquid more slowly than modern wheat.
Begin with the smaller amount of water, adding more only as needed.
As the dough rests, it will continue to soften and become easier to work with.
Handling Tips
Keep both the butter and the dough as cold as possible throughout the entire process.
If the dough cracks while rolling, let it rest for a few minutes before continuing.
If the dough begins to stick, dust the work surface lightly with flour rather than forcing it.
If your kitchen is especially warm and the butter begins to soften while you’re working, don’t hesitate to return the dough to the refrigerator for 10–15 minutes before continuing.
Cold butter is one of the secrets to beautifully flaky pastry, and a short rest in the refrigerator can make all the difference.
This dough is meant to feel forgiving, not fussy. Work with it, not against it.
Savory or Sweet
This crust is equally at home in both savory and sweet baking.
It’s wonderful for savory recipes such as:
Pot pies
Vegetable tarts
Vegan quiches
Empanadas and hand pies
For sweet pies, you can add 1–2 tsp sugar to the dry ingredients if you like, though I rarely find it necessary.
Rustic Galettes
This dough is just as beautiful baked free-form as it is in a pie dish.
Roll the dough into a rough 12–13-inch (30–33 cm) circle and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Spoon the filling into the center, leaving a 2–3-inch (5–7.5 cm) border, then gently fold the edges over the filling, pleating as you go.
Chill the shaped galette for 10–15 minutes before baking to help it hold its shape, then bake until deeply golden with bubbling edges.
Galettes are perfect for fruit, roasted vegetables, or savory fillings whenever you want something beautiful without being overly formal.
Storage
Wrap the dough well before storing.
It will keep for:
Up to 2 days in the refrigerator
Up to 2 months in the freezer
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
A Little Extra Dough Is a Good Thing
This crust is generously sized for a 9½-inch pie dish on purpose. I would rather have enough dough to roll the pastry at a comfortable thickness, ease it into the dish without stretching, and still have plenty for a beautiful crimp than struggle to make a smaller piece of dough fit.
Trim away whatever you don’t need—and don’t throw those scraps away.
Roll them together, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar, or simply brush with melted butter and bake until golden.
Consider it the chef’s treat for making the pie.
A Final Thought
Traditional pastry has been bringing people together for generations.
This recipe honors those time-tested European techniques while embracing the beautiful character of heirloom flours like spelt and einkorn through the lens of a modern plant-based kitchen.
Whether you fill it with sweet summer fruit, a bubbling vegetable pot pie, a rustic galette, or one of my favorite rhubarb pies, I hope this crust becomes one of those dependable recipes you return to again and again.
This is the kind of food that nourishes quietly.
It asks us to slow down,
to listen,
and to remember what is enough.