Always doubted the "cold butter" rule for pie crusts

I used to just use room temp butter because I was impatient. Last weekend I finally tried freezing my butter and grating it into the flour, and my crust came out flaky for the first time ever. Has anyone else had a baking rule they skipped for years that turned out to be a game changer?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_hart72mo ago

Freezing and grating the butter is a total cheat code, but you gotta keep everything cold after that too. Stick the flour bowl and even your hands in the freezer for a few minutes before you mix it together.

the_betty2mo ago

Ask @kim_hart7 - does that freezer trick actually help enough difference for pie dough, or is it more for biscuits? Trying to figure out if I'm overthinking something or not.

the_betty28d ago

Oh man, the grated butter trick was a total game changer for me too! I'd always read about keeping everything cold but just assumed my warm hands would ruin it anyway, turns out if you toss the grated butter back in the freezer for like 5 mins before adding water it makes a huge difference. Definitely worth the extra effort for pie dough, just make sure your water is ice cold too or it'll melt everything right away.