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My pie crust method changed after a soggy disaster in Portland
Honestly I used to just throw cold butter chunks into flour and hope for the best. Then last November I made 6 pies for a Friendsgiving and all of them had soggy bottoms, even with a blind bake. Now I grate the frozen butter and use a 2:1 flour to butter ratio with vodka, that trick from Cook's Illustrated. Has anyone else gone through a pie crust revelation that late in the game?
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hernandez.brooke1mo ago
...so my buddy Marcus had the exact same thing happen, except his was at a Thanksgiving potluck where the host posted a photo of the underside of his crust on the group chat. He said it looked like a wet paper towel. He switched to freezing the butter and doing a 30 minute chill on the dough before rolling, and now he swears by a hot oven at 425 for the first 15 minutes with the pie on the lowest rack. I've tried his method a couple times and it does help, but your grated butter trick sounds even more reliable. Take that with a grain of salt though, I'm still learning myself.
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joseph5291mo ago
Wait, isn't the whole point of a flaky crust that you want those little butter pockets to stay cold? But yeah, I used to think any chill was enough, then my first few pies came out with that same soggy bottom you're describing. Now I'm totally on board with the grated butter and a hard freeze before baking, that extra step is a game changer.
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