All Butter Pie Dough Recipe ~Sweet & Savory (2024)

FAQs

What are 2 disadvantages of using all butter in pie crust? ›

The cons: Butter can be harder to work with than lard or shortening because of its lower melting point, so the dough temperature has to be just right. If it gets too warm, it will be too soft to handle and will tear easily. Butter is a firmer fat, so if it's too cold, your dough will be more difficult to roll out.

“My preferred fat for pie crusts will always be butter. To me, it is all about flavor, and no other fat gives flavor to a crust like butter does. Other fats, even though they have great pros, lack flavor,” De Sa Martins said. “The more flavorful the butter, the more flavor your pie crust will have,” Huntsberger added.

Evan Kleiman's Classic 3-2-1 Pie Crust: This is the first pie dough I ever learned to make. It's made up of 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat and 1 part liquid.

The number one tip most pie dough recipes will emphasize is using cold butter, cold water, cold hands—really cold everything. The colder the butter (or shortening) stays in the dough, the more it can stay self-contained until it hits the oven, creating bigger pockets of air.

If the butter is too warm, it will combine too well into the flour, making the dough hard to work with and the final crust tough or cracker-like. If you've had problems with your pie crust recipe, chances are the butter's to blame. Here's how to keep it under control: Start with cold butter, straight from the fridge.

If your recipe calls for an egg yolk, know that the yolk adds fat as well as natural lecithin, which makes the dough pliable and easier to handle.

This time, though, there was one very clear victor. Butter made a tastier, flakier, sturdier crust by far.

Mistake to Avoid No.

Adding more flour is always an option, but add too much flour and your dough will end up like a cracker—not a pie crust. Remember: The more you mix your pie dough, the tougher it becomes. To keep the mixing to a minimum, try rolling out your dough between two pieces of parchment paper.

Though the science is sketchy, a few professional pie bakers swear that it improves the texture of the crust, and they wouldn't dream of making pie dough without it. (Others swear by similarly acidic ingredients like lemon juice.) The acidic properties of vinegar inhibit gluten, some will say.

Unlike water, alcohol does not contribute to the formation of gluten, the network of proteins that can cause a crust to turn leathery. Because the alcohol burns off quickly in the oven, drying out the crust, we could add enough vodka to keep the dough wet and extremely supple.

What brand of butter is best for pie crust? ›

Both Kerrygold and Plugra scored high when making pie dough and had a luscious mouthfeel when tasted solo. But overall, the flavor and creaminess of Kerrygold won because of it's (very) slight grassy taste.

Our Traditional American Piecrust has more liquid than Pâte Brisée which encourages gluten development to make a stronger, sturdier crust for denser fillings. The excess water also increases the amount of steam while baking, which causes the crust to lift and puff.

What you want for pie is flour that yields a tender, flaky crust, which means medium-protein all-purpose flour or low-protein pastry flour.

This is the easy and famous '3, 2, 1' pie crust. It's 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part liquid - along with some salt and/or sugar for flavor. Those who have read my post on ratios know that these "parts" are by weight and not volume, so this is when owning a scale becomes useful.

The addition of acid softened the gluten, tenderizing the crust. The addition of an egg yolk adds richness, color and flavor to the dough as well as leavening power. You don't want to use a whole egg because the protein the the egg white will make the crust tough.

Brush the Bottom with Corn Syrup or Egg White

Coating the inside surface of the bottom crust will create a barrier to prevent sogginess.

PIE DOUGH RULES

As important as not overmixing is staying chilled, literally!! That means keeping all elements cold— your counter, ingredients, hands, heart (just kidding!). No, but seriously, cut up your butter into little cubes and chill them before you incorporate them into the flour.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using butter in a pie crust? Advantages : excellent flavor and forms distinct flaky layers. Disadvantages: Expensive and butter melts easy bettween 82.5 and 96.8 degrees F. It takes more time to make pastry because it must be refrigerated.

You knead bread dough to develop and stretch the gluten. In pie crust, you don't want gluten to form so you don't want to mix too much and overwork the dough. For a flaky crust, cut the butter so that chunks of butter about the size of walnut halves remain. The chunks of cold butter create the layers in the dough.

Whether you use a food processor, a stand mixer, or your hands to incorporate the ingredients together, overmixing is a common mistake that leads to a chewy crust. It's tempting when baking to combine the ingredients completely, but the texture should resemble a coarse meal before adding your liquid.

Why add lemon juice to pastry? ›

Make a well and add the liquid (the tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar helps tenderize the dough and keep it from oxidizing or turning gray). Stir into the bowl while lightly tossing the ingredients to moisten them evenly, keeping the butter pieces large.

This results in a looser dough that can expand and puff up more. The egg white on the other hand acts as a coagulant and sets the crumb making it bouncier and chewier in a good way. Crust is another part of the bread that is greatly affected by egg. It caramelises more and becomes crispier.

Adding an extra egg won't make much difference; however, adding two or more extra eggs may give you a dense, rubbery cake—not the fine crumb you're after. It will also have an “eggy” taste.

However, since butter has a lower melting point than margarine, baked goods made with butter may spread more during baking. This can result in cookies that are flatter and wider than intended. To prevent this from happening, it's important to chill the dough before baking.

Too much butter will result in a very soft, sticky dough that's difficult to shape, and bakes up greasy and dense.

As the dough is baked, the butter melts and creates steam, trapping it in the dough and creating air pockets. Once the dough has cooled, these air pockets become delicate layers of flaky dough. By this point, you've realized that butter adds more than flavor—it develops texture.

The secret to making the best pie crust is to coat a portion of the flour with cold butter before adding in the rest of your flour. This simple step guarantees a super flaky, light pie crust.