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My neighbor swore by using a full cup of vinegar in her pie crust recipe
She told me it made the crust 'impossibly flaky' and I had to try it. So last Tuesday, I followed her exact instructions for a blueberry pie. The kitchen smelled like a science fair volcano for an hour. The crust came out tough and weirdly sour, nothing like hers. I think she left out the part where you only need a tablespoon. Has anyone else gotten baking advice that sounded crazy and actually was?
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riverdavis2mo ago
Remember the vodka trick works because alcohol evaporates.
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charles212mo ago
Wait, is the goal here to make pie or start a cleaning supply company? A full cup of vinegar sounds like you're trying to pickle the flour. I've heard of a spoonful to stop gluten from forming, but that much acid would just make a weird, tough mess. Some of these "secret tricks" are just people mixing up their measurements.
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Oh man, I'm gonna push back on this one. Look, I've actually done this exact thing and it worked beautifully. The trick is that you need to let the dough rest in the fridge for at least two hours, preferably overnight. The vinegar smell bakes off completely and the acid really does break down the gluten strands. My first attempt was a disaster too, but I realized I was using too much water alongside the vinegar. You gotta cut the water back by the same amount of vinegar you add. The sourness usually means you didn't let it rest long enough for the flavor to mellow out.
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the_tessa2mo ago
That "impossibly flaky" vinegar trick backfired for me too, but a splash of vodka in the dough actually worked lol.
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