My grandmother's pie crust trick finally clicked after 40 years

I always struggled with tough, crumbly pie crusts no matter what recipe I used. Last Thanksgiving, I remembered my grandmother saying to handle the dough as little as possible and use ice water. I finally tried her approach - mixing the butter in until it's pea-sized and adding just enough water to make it hold together. The crust came out flaky and tender for the first time in all my years of baking. Has anyone else had a family trick that took forever to actually try?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivanlewis1mo ago

Oh man, I actually read something about this recently! Some food scientist or whatever was saying that the key to flaky crust is big fat pieces, not tiny ones, and that most people overmix because they're scared of lumps. Ice water is supposed to keep the butter solid while you work, so it steams in the oven and makes those air pockets. I tried it myself last month and my wife said it was the best crust I ever made, and she never compliments my baking. Your grandma was onto something for sure, sometimes the old ways really are the best.

emma5221mo ago

I've been there with the crumbly crust struggle for years too... it's such a relief when something finally clicks after all that trial and error.