My mom told me my pie crust was 'fine' for years till I watched her make one

Turns out I was overworking the dough like crazy. She finally came over last Thanksgiving and showed me how she uses a pastry cutter and barely touches the flour with her hands. I used to roll it out like 10 times, she does like 3 passes max. Switched to ice cold butter cut into pea sized pieces and now my crust actually flakes. Has anyone else had a family member drop a baking bomb like that on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_max16d ago

Peeking over my grandma's shoulder changed everything for me too. She caught me pressing the dough flat with my palm and just shook her head. Now I don't even own a rolling pin, I just pat it out between two sheets of parchment. Night and day difference in the crumb.

fiona_kim16d ago

Wait, do you find the parchment method works better with REALLY cold dough too? @the_max I tried that after watching my aunt do it with her pierogi dough and it was a GAME changer. The trick that sealed it for me was letting the dough rest in the fridge for a full hour before patting. That stopped it from sticking to the parchment and ruining the crumb structure. Now I won't go back to a rolling pin either, it just compresses everything too much.

john_fisher16d ago

I read this thing once from this old baker who said the key to flaky dough is keeping the fat in little solid chunks no bigger than a pea. That stuck with me because when I used to roll dough out, I'd just smash everything flat and lose that texture completely. Now when I pat it out like you're saying, I can actually feel those little butter pieces staying put instead of melting into a greasy mess. The parchment trick is smart too, I've heard it helps with the heat transfer from your hands messing with the dough temperature. My grandma always used a marble slab for the same reason, supposedly it stays cold longer. But I'm with you on the rolling pin, I think mine is at the back of some cabinet collecting dust.