Warning: letting your pie crust rest for 10 minutes longer makes a huge difference

I always rushed through pie dough because I wanted to just get it in the oven. Last weekend I tried an experiment with two batches of apple pie. One went straight in after rolling, the other sat in the fridge for 20 minutes. The rested one didn't shrink at all and the crust was way flakier. I'm kicking myself for not trying this sooner. Has anyone else noticed a big difference with resting times?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethwhite1mo ago

I've had the opposite experience actually, the cold dough just got tough on me.

viola_butler1mo ago

Elizabethwhite's dough probably got tough from overworking, not the rest itself. The trick is letting the gluten relax without the dough warming up too much. Twenty minutes in the fridge is about right, but if you go longer it can get weird. I've left dough overnight before and had to let it sit on the counter for fifteen minutes just to roll it without cracking. The flakiness comes from the butter staying solid and creating steam pockets, not from the dough being rock hard. Maybe try a shorter rest like fifteen minutes and see if that helps with the toughness issue.