Butter vs shortening in pie crust: I picked wrong and got a soggy bottom

Made two pies for Thanksgiving - one with all butter dough and one with half shortening. The butter one tasted amazing but the crust just went limp after an hour. Shortening one held up perfectly but had that weird greasy mouthfeel. How do you guys balance taste vs texture when picking fats for pastry?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_schmidt821mo ago

Try chilling the butter crust after filling and before baking for a solid 20 minutes. That extra step locks in the structure so you get the flaky butter taste without the sad limp bottom.

kelly6381mo ago

Right, chilling the crust is definitely a game changer. I used to skip that part because I'm impatient and wanted to get it in the oven asap. But one time I made a deep dish apple pie and the bottom was basically a soggy noodle after 45 minutes. Had to hand-scoop it out of the pan like soup. So now I set a timer on my phone and force myself to wait.

the_thea1mo ago

My friend tried that Laura Schmidt tip with her berry pie last weekend. She chilled the whole thing for 20 minutes before baking and said the crust came out perfect, no sogginess at all. @laura_schmidt82 knows what she's talking about. Meanwhile my friend's husband was hovering over the pie ready to eat it warm and she had to physically block him from cutting into it. Worth it though. She said the bottom was flaky and held together when she sliced it.