Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Pinch of saffron threads
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
  • Whipped cream (for serving)

Method

  • Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
  • Transfer to a large bowl and add buttermilk. Mix with a fork, adding more buttermilk by the tablespoon if needed, just until a shaggy dough comes together; knead very lightly until no dry spots remain. Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 4 hours.
  • DO AHEAD:
  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll out pie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14" round. Transfer to a 9" pie dish, allowing dough to slump down into dish. Trim dough, leaving about 1" overhang. Fold overhang under and crimp edge. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Freeze 15 minutes.
  • Line crust with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is dry around the edge, 20-25 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; bake until surface looks dry, 10-12 minutes longer.
  • Meanwhile, blend egg yolks, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and saffron in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add 2 tablespoons flour, then butter. Tap blender jar against countertop to burst any air bubbles in filling and pour into warm crust.
  • Bake pie, rotating halfway through and covering edges with foil if they brown too much before filling is done, until filling is set around edge but center jiggles slightly, 55-65 minutes. Transfer pie dish to a wire rack and let pie cool. Serve pie with whipped cream.
  • DO AHEAD: