Learned a pie crust trick from a baker at the Ohio State Fair

I was at the Ohio State Fair last August watching a pie demo, and the baker said to use ice water with vodka instead of just water for the dough. I tried it on my next apple pie and the crust came out super flaky for the first time ever. Have any of you experimented with adding alcohol to your pastry dough?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_gibson21mo ago

Ryanprice might be onto something with the vanilla vodka, I've only ever used regular cheap stuff but now I'm tempted to raid my liquor cabinet. For science, of course - though knowing me I'd probably drink half the bottle first and forget to add it to the dough.

ryanprice1mo ago

My buddy Dave tried this exact trick for his Thanksgiving pies last year. He said he used vanilla vodka (because that's all he had) and his family swore it was the flakiest crust he'd ever made.