ruby_jones•2mo agoMost Upvoted

My sister-in-law told me my pie crust was 'tough as leather' at Thanksgiving dinner.

She said I was overworking the dough and not keeping the butter cold enough, so I started using ice water and handling it less. The difference in my last two pies was like night and day, they were actually flaky. Has anyone else had a simple tip completely fix a baking problem for them?

4 comments

4 Comments

lee8472mo ago

Tough as leather" is a brutal review, lmao. My first attempt at biscuits could have stopped a bullet, honestly. I was using warm butter and kneading it like bread dough. Switching to frozen butter grated on a cheese grater was a total game changer for me.

the_diana25d ago

Whoa, totally agree about the leather comment! But here's another angle that got me. @spencer_owens58 mentioned the ice water trick, which is great, but I started keeping my bowl and pastry cutter in the freezer for 15 minutes before starting. Cold gear makes a huge difference. Even with frozen grated butter, if your tools are warm that butter starts melting the second it hits them. I also switched to using a metal bench scraper to fold the dough instead of my hands. Keeps it from warming up and turning into a brick.

mia_cooper2mo ago

Grating frozen butter is a solid move, but you still need to keep everything cold. Overworking the dough with warm hands can make it tough again. The goal is to barely mix it until it just comes together.

spencer_owens582mo ago

Totally get the overworking thing. My first pie crusts were like cardboard. Saw @lee847 mention grating frozen butter, tried that with the ice water. Game changer. Keep the butter pieces pea-sized, barely mix. Makes it so much easier to get those flaky layers without the leather texture.