I just realized I've been overworking my pie dough for years

For the longest time, I'd mix my butter and flour by hand until it looked like fine sand, which took maybe 5 minutes of rubbing. Then I watched a baker from a shop in Chicago do a demo where she left visible pea-sized chunks of butter. I tried it last month, and the flakiness in my crust is insane now. It feels wrong to stop mixing when it still looks shaggy, but the steam from those butter bits makes all the difference. Anyone else have to fight the urge to keep working their dough?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerg171mo ago

@jason_robinson raises a good point about the "real work" feeling. I actually wonder if that's why so many of us end up with tough crusts (myself included, until recently). Do you catch yourself overmixing just because the extra effort makes it feel more legit?

jason_robinson3mo ago

Ever think we overwork dough because it feels more like real work that way?

sagesingh3mo ago

You might be onto something. We get stuck on kneading when sometimes the dough just needs a rest.