The pie crust to end all pie crusts
Every penny I have ever spent on Cook's Illustrated would be worth it for this recipe alone. Seriously. PERFECT AND FOOLPROOF PIE CRUST. I'm a pretty good cook in most respects, but I've never been able to master pie crust. One day it turns out awesome, and the next it's chewy and tough. And I *love* me some pie, and would make it much more often if I could be sure of the good crust. Now I can be. I have two perfect pumpkin pies upstairs as proof.
The Chemistry: Okay. Most pie crust recipes tell you to cut the fat into the dry ingredients until the remaining butter (and/or shortening) pieces are a particular size, which makes for a flaky crust, but what the clever, clever testers at C.I. discovered is that it's not necessarily the fat pieces that cause the flakes. It's the fat-encapsulated flour particles! The flour that has been completely mixed with the fat absorbs no water. The remaining flour *does* absorb water, and thus develops gluten, which is the protein that gives structure to all kinds of baked goods. So when you roll out the dough and bake it, you get thin, crisp layers of gluten interspersed with the melted fats.
So, to get reliable flakes every time, they suggest processing all the fat with a portion of the flour until they're *completely* mixed (i.e. they've formed a homogeneous dough), then add the rest of the flour and mix briefly just to distribute it.
The Chemistry, Part II: Then there's the matter of the water. Skimp on the water and the dough is dry, crumbly, and hard to work with. Add too much water and too much gluten forms, making the crust tough. So pie researcher J. Kenji Alt mused, wouldn't it be great if I had something wet that didn't have much water in it? The answer: vodka. Alcohol does not contribute to gluten formation, but it does make the dough pliable and easy to work with, and then it bakes off and you never taste it.
Brilliant.
For one 9-inch double crust pie:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold
1/4 cup cold water
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
The Chemistry: Okay. Most pie crust recipes tell you to cut the fat into the dry ingredients until the remaining butter (and/or shortening) pieces are a particular size, which makes for a flaky crust, but what the clever, clever testers at C.I. discovered is that it's not necessarily the fat pieces that cause the flakes. It's the fat-encapsulated flour particles! The flour that has been completely mixed with the fat absorbs no water. The remaining flour *does* absorb water, and thus develops gluten, which is the protein that gives structure to all kinds of baked goods. So when you roll out the dough and bake it, you get thin, crisp layers of gluten interspersed with the melted fats.
So, to get reliable flakes every time, they suggest processing all the fat with a portion of the flour until they're *completely* mixed (i.e. they've formed a homogeneous dough), then add the rest of the flour and mix briefly just to distribute it.
The Chemistry, Part II: Then there's the matter of the water. Skimp on the water and the dough is dry, crumbly, and hard to work with. Add too much water and too much gluten forms, making the crust tough. So pie researcher J. Kenji Alt mused, wouldn't it be great if I had something wet that didn't have much water in it? The answer: vodka. Alcohol does not contribute to gluten formation, but it does make the dough pliable and easy to work with, and then it bakes off and you never taste it.
Brilliant.
For one 9-inch double crust pie:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold
1/4 cup cold water
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.