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I keep seeing people overwork their pie dough and it makes me cringe
At the county fair bake-off last weekend, I watched three different bakers handle their dough until it was almost warm, and you could see the gluten strands forming. I mean, you want those little pockets of fat to stay cold so the crust stays flaky, right? What's your go-to trick for keeping everything chilled when you're in a warm kitchen?
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aaronf402mo ago
Ngl, watching that is like seeing someone knead a biscuit recipe into bread dough. My trick is to grate frozen butter right into the flour bowl, works every time.
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diana_grant2mo ago
Ugh, that's the worst. My weird trick is using a metal bowl and putting it in the freezer for ten minutes before I even start. Cold tools matter as much as cold butter. I also freeze my flour sometimes if it's a really hot day. Warm hands ruin everything, so I run my wrists under cold water to chill my blood. Sounds nuts but it works.
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ward.fiona4d ago
Freezing the flour is something I've only tried once but I burned a batch anyway. Diana, do you think the freezer time actually changes how the flour incorporates, or is it more about keeping the bowl cold? @aaronf40's grating method sounds fast but I worry about it melting between the grater and the bowl. I've had that happen on a humid day and it turned into a sticky mess before I could even mix it. Is there a trick to getting the frozen butter into the bowl without losing half of it to your fingers?
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