A Genius 4-Finger Hack Is The Easiest And Fastest Way To Crimp Pie Crust

A vital step to making any homemade pie — before it slides into the oven — is to crimp the crust. Crimping is the process of folding and pinching the edges of the dough to create an attractive presentation and prevent the crust from imploding or any filling sliding out. Sure, you can use your artistic skills and create a pleated or braided crimp, but there is nothing wrong with the tried-and-true classic crimp: the v-shaped fold.  But, as with many baking techniques, the crimp is easier said than done. So to avoid any frustration from an uneven crimped crust, the next time you are whipping up an easy apple or maple pumpkin pie, try using your hand as a guide.

Use your fingers as a gauge and gently press the dough between your interdigits. This will keep your spacing even and your crimps the same size. To prevent the dough from sticking to your palms or fingers, lightly oil your hands first. You can also dust your hands with flour, but you'll have to reapply every so often.

There's evidence of widespread pie crimping dating as far back as the 16th century. There was a specific tool for this task, rightfully called the pie crimper, which was originally made of brass but, eventually, also whale ivory, ebony, or tortoiseshell. The tool served as a quick way to cut dough and decorate the crust as pies of all kinds — fruit and dessert pies but also filling meat pies – were popular fare in the average kitchen.

These tools are not nearly as popular today — in fact, one of these antique ivory crimpers was auctioned off for $3,600 in 2019. Often, sailors would make pie crimpers out of leftover whalebone, and they would chisel them to resemble unicorns, sea monsters, and other mythical creatures. Instead of carefully crafted pie crimpers in the shape of creatures of mythos, today we have transitioned to using more modern utensils — think a tiny, unadorned roller — or just our fingers to seal a pie.  

Besides the classic crimping technique, there are more advanced options for adorning your buttery, flaky, pie crust — namely, using a cookie cutter of a leaf, flower, or star to place overlapping one another on the rim. Crimping can also be done via a fork, by creating hatch marks around the entire circumference of the crust. Similarly, you can grab a citrus reamer and press and roll it along the pie for a thick-lined crimp.