These tips will help you make sure your pie dough is flaky and crisp! Use cold butter - Make sure your butter is cold before adding it to the flour mixture. When the cold butter is mixed with the flour, it creates distinct layers of butter throughout the dough. During baking, the water in the butter turns to steam and creates air pockets in the dough. This results in a flaky texture. If the butter is too warm or melted, it won't have the same effect and the crust might turn out dense or tough. Use cold liquid - When adding water and vinegar to the dough, make sure they are ice-cold. This helps to keep the butter cold. Don't overwork the dough - Overworking the dough can cause the butter to melt and result in a tough crust. It also encourages excess gluten development, which you want to avoid. Mix the dough just until it comes together. Chill the dough - After mixing the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This keeps the butter cold and gives the gluten a chance to relax, which will make it easier to roll out the dough. It also keeps the pie crust from shrinking when it's baked! Chill the pie right before baking - To ensure that the pie dough is firm before it goes into the hot oven, chill the fully assembled pie for 15 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.