My sous chef swore by cold butter for pie dough, I fought him for a year

I always thought room temp butter made flakier crusts because that's how my grandma did it. Last month we were slammed before a catering order for 200 mini quiches and he grabbed my butter straight from the walk-in. I almost yelled at him but let it ride, and those crusts came out way more tender and didn't shrink in the tart rings. He said the cold fat creates steam pockets while the flour stays put, no overworking needed. Now I keep a stick in the freezer just for pastry, and I still give him grief about it but he's earned the point. Anyone else been wrong about a basic technique for years and only learned because they were too busy to argue?

0 comments

0 Comments

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.