Fresh Blueberry Pie with a Vodka Crust

[layers_of_eli]

My sweet boyfriend bought me America's Test Kitchen (the latest season and cookbook) for Valentine's Day! After watching their "best blueberry pie" episode, I had to give it a go

Comments

[kint]

This recipe is all sorts of awesome! Made it twice now (though once was 'mixed berry'). I've since switched to an Alton Brown crust recipe - similar principal, but about half the fat and IMHO just as good. This recipe is definitely sticky, but I think one perk of the extra vodka moisture was that you can use more flour for rolling than you'd want to with a more 'conventional' crust recipe.

[layers_of_eli]

I used a ton more flour, and it just kept sticking . . . until it started breaking, that is! Ugh! I was seriously disgusted at a few points. ha.

Is the AB recipe as sticky?

[kint]

Did you chill the shortening enough? And then the final dough? I didn't give the shortening enough time to get nice and cold once, and I do believe I had the same problem.

You can run into the same problem with Alton Brown's recipe, though I think it's less likely since it's a little less moist and a lot less fat.

[layers_of_eli]

Yep -- shortening chilled for days and rechilled after quick slicing. Dough chilled overnight and for a good bit after each time I worked with it. Same process I typically use with my lard/butter crust, which is usually a lot less . . . gooey. Ha.

[kint]

The only other thing I could think of is just how strong your local AP flour is. It's quite possible that an AP in VT? NH? Wherever the test kitchen is, the AP may have more protein than it would in the south (which tends to be less strong for biscuit making and such). That would mean the dough would need less moisture to get to the same consistency.