The Easiest Way To Ruin A Pie Crust - And How To Prevent It - Tasting Table

"Chef Merritt emphasized the importance of chilling butter in the freezer for half an hour before working it into her pie crust dough. "This is important," she says, "because you want to have small but distinct butter pieces scattered throughout your dough (think as large as a pea, or as small as a mini chocolate chip). As the crust bakes, the tiny butter pockets steam and cause the crust to puff, giving you a flaky, buttery, and tender crust.""

"Dry ingredients like flour and sugar are fine at room temperature, but warm butter will ruin your pie crust. Instead of evenly distributed bits of chilled butter throughout your dough, warm butter will smear into the dough. According to Chef Merritt, "You'll no longer have those tiny butter pockets, so you end up with a dough that's dense, tough, rubbery or even greasy and is prone to shrinking when baking.""

"Chef Merritt stressed that "fats or liquids like butter, sour cream, ice water, or vodka, should be as cold as possible without being frozen. This will help you achieve flaky layers." Vodka may sound like an unlikely ingredient, but you should consider adding it to your pie crust because it inhibits gluten development, which further promotes a flaky consistency."

Chilling fats and liquids before incorporating them into pie dough preserves small, distinct pieces of butter that create steam pockets and flaky layers during baking. Butter should be chilled in the freezer for about half an hour so pieces are as large as a pea or as small as a mini chocolate chip. Dry ingredients such as flour and sugar can remain at room temperature. Warm butter will smear into the dough, eliminating pockets and producing a dense, tough, rubbery, or greasy crust that may shrink. Fats or liquids like butter, sour cream, ice water, or vodka should be as cold as possible without freezing. Adding vodka inhibits gluten development and further promotes a flaky consistency.

Read at Tasting Table