Absolutely foolproof pie crust

[cantdog]

A breakthrough.

There's a magazine called Cook's Illustrated. You want the Nov-Dec issue for this year. It has a painting of pears on the cover. Seriously.

The writer of the article tested a lot of different pie-crust ideas. One hundred forty-eight pie crusts later, there the answer was.

Vodka.

Chilled vodka, actually! Although only the old-timers here will get the reference.


Here it is online.

This has been a public service announcement.

 

[Guest]

Which CV?



(Are you wearing that for Halloween? 'Cause, won't the mustache tickle?)

 

[3113]

Thank you!

Chilled vodka, actually! Although only the old-timers here will get the reference.

No shit? I mean, really, no shit? Perfect pie crust has always eluded me, and so I thank you profusely for the public service announcement but, whoah. What a revelation. So, what's the chemistry here? Why does it work? (The link on the page took me to "Buy Cooks Illustrated!" page).

Have you tried the recipe yet?

 

[cantdog]

omigod, nice av, Sarahh

 

[Guest]

omigod, nice av, Sarahh

*blush*

 

[cantdog]

No shit? I mean, really, no shit? Perfect pie crust has always eluded me, and so I thank you profusely for the public service announcement but, whoah. What a revelation. So, what's the chemistry here? Why does it work? (The link on the page took me to "Buy Cooks Illustrated!" page).

Have you tried the recipe yet?

Yeah. It makes the crust hydrated without making the crust come out tough. The chemistry is the gluten formation.

You need a certain proportion of flour which is not coated with fat, so it will be available to form gluten in conjunction with the water. Otherwise, no flakes. But, if you have too much gluten, by overworking the dough or by having too much water, then it's tough.

Gluten doesn't form in the presence of alcohol, but the vodka wets the dough so it rolls sweetly and makes a nice civilized circle. But 40% of it is alcohol, not water, so the gluten formation is limited.

 

[3113]

Yeah. It makes the crust hydrated without making the crust come out tough. The chemistry is the gluten formation.

Well, I'll certainly be giving this a try. Anything recipe that can give me pie crust that doesn't crumble to pieces when I roll it out is a god-send. Maybe I'll make some chicken-pot pie this week and see what happens.

 

[fieryjen]

I really want to try it. I'm making German cheesecake this weekend, but next weekend I could pair this with a double chocolate pie...

Thanks for the link

 

[3113]

I really want to try it. I'm making German cheesecake this weekend, but next weekend I could pair this with a double chocolate pie...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up.

Double chocolate. Double? As in twice the chocolate? Recipe please!

 

[fieryjen]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up.

Double chocolate. Double? As in twice the chocolate? Recipe please!

Sure I got this online somewhere, I don't remember where though. It turns out really rich and very very chocolatey. I love it, although I never manage to eat more than half a slice at a time.

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Add chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Place egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl. Gradually pour half of chocolate mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly.

Whisk egg yolk mixture back into mixture in saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract.

Pour mixture into baked pie shell. Press a layer of plastic wrap onto filling. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 48 hours. Remove plastic wrap before serving and top with whipped topping.

(I never put on the whipped topping, personally, it's rich and delicious enough on its own.)

 

[cantdog]

My test case was pork pie. Our house guest hates onion and removes it from cooked dishes, so I had to sublimate the onion.

I cut an onion lengthwise, then stored half. Crosswise slices on the half onion, in a pan with thinly sliced celery (to minimize the strings). About a third of a whole bunch or head of celery, concentrating on the interior stalks and leaves, because I planned to puree. Onion and celery into a black iron spider with a good bit of butter, sauté them until softened a bit.

Then add a half cup each of beef and chicken stocks. This whole thing gets dumped into a blender with a dash of ground celery seed, a pinch of fennel powder, salt, pepper. Purée.

Pork cubes, in butter, are then browned in the same spider. Flour is added, maybe two tablespoons (30 g). Have enough pork to fill a pie. When the flour is cooked and the pork browned a bit, pour in the purée and stir to deglaze. Mine was very pale, so I broiled the whole spider until enough browning had happened. Simmer the result to cook it down and smooth out the sauce.

Make the pie dough. Pour the meat and gravy in very hot to keep the crust from soaking up the juice, so the bottom crust stays flaky and nice. Cover with a top crust, pieced to let steam out.

Very hot oven, 'til the filling bubbles and the crust looks good.

 

[bluebell]

Pardon the jack

omigod, nice av, Sarahh

Seriously.
I meandered in to read about pie crust and possibly to mention that saying "Absolutely foolproof pie crust" out loud is a little difficult for me, and then I saw Sarahh's av.
Then I said "Holy shit!" instead.

So, yeah.
On with the flaky goodness.

 

[Guest]

Seriously.
I meandered in to read about pie crust and possibly to mention that saying "Absolutely foolproof pie crust" out loud is a little difficult for me, and then I saw Sarahh's av.
Then I said "Holy shit!" instead.

So, yeah.
On with the flaky goodness.

OK, cant. I'm thinking of trying this pie crust thing.

Although you know young son, he won't eat anything except chicken drumsticks, cheese pizza or macaroni and cheese. I wonder if I can get him to eat pot pie?

Even especially yummy potpie?

*sigh*

 

[3113]

Sure I got this online somewhere, I don't remember where though. It turns out really rich and very very chocolatey.

Thanks very much! Now I just have to figure out a way to be at your house when you make this to get a taste

 

[Recidiva]

My mom passed along a perfect recipe. Vinegar.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I've honestly never had a problem with a pie crust since I was a teenager but it looks interesting. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

 

[3113]

I've honestly never had a problem with a pie crust since I was a teenager

"Never had a problem with pie crust..." Little miss pie crust maker....

(I'm not bitter. Or envious. No, no....)

 

[Guest]

Thank you!

I really needed one of those!

Maharat

 

[fieryjen]

Thanks very much! Now I just have to figure out a way to be at your house when you make this to get a taste

Heh. It's not difficult to make, honest. But of course you're invited

 

[MagicaPractica]

"Never had a problem with pie crust..." Little miss pie crust maker....

(I'm not bitter. Or envious. No, no....)

Well, personally, I'd gladly trade my cooking ability for smaller hips. (I'm working on it, I'm working on it.)

 

[3113]

Just got my copy of Cook's Illustrated! Thanks Cantdog! Maybe we should have some sort of monthly cooking discussion on things like this.

 

[3113]

My mom passed along a perfect recipe. Vinegar.

The article in the magazine actually mentions vinegar and lemon juice and why Vodka was picked over both:

"Scanning through recipes turned up a common 'miracle ingredient'--acid. Many recipes say that a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice can tenderize dough....But after consulting our science editor, I learned that gluten formation is actually increased in slightly acidic environments (a pH of between 5 & 6) and doesn't begin to decrease until the pH drops below 5. This required replacing nearly half the water with lemon juice, by which point the crust was incredibly sour."

The problem is this: Dry dough doesn't roll out well (as I'll attest as it's always my primary problem. It crumbles and falls to pieces). But water (which makes dough easily to roll out into nice, smooth, uncrumbling sheets) creates gluten; and that, when baked, makes for a tough rather than tender crust. So what was needed, as Cantdog explained, was something that could "wet" the dough but wouldn't form gluten. Gluten can't form in alcohol, and Vodka, at 40% ethanol, allowed for every spoonful to be only 60% water instead of 100%. So four tablespoons of Vodka wet the dough as if it were four tablespoons of water, but only contributed to the creation of 2.4 tablespoons of water's worth of gluten. Hence, the dough is tricked (sic). It rolls out as if it's been watered down, but bakes up as if it's been made with minimal water.

I think my math is right there. Very clever solution. The article swears that the dough is as pliable as Play-doh. Can't wait to try it and see if it's true.

 

[shereads]

Similar in concept, but easier:

Ingredients:

1 (one) Pillsbury frozen Pie Crust
1/2 cup cold milk
Bailey's irish Cream, to taste

While thawing pie crust according to package directions, pour the cold milk into a highball glass. Add a shot of Bailey's and stir. Sip slowly. You may decide you don't want any pie after all.

 

[cantdog]

I've honestly never had a problem with a pie crust since I was a teenager but it looks interesting. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

I have the "problem" the author mentions, of it rolling out in an irregular sprawl, but I always thought it just came with the territory. If you do it right, there's a lot of wastage at the edges. I have never sweated that. But this method evidently does fix that. I only tried it once, and let me say, it feels really odd to slosh so very much liquid in there! But such a well-behaved crust! And ALMOST as good as my usual.

Ahem.

3113, Cook's Illustrated is like this all the time. This guy actually baked a hundred fifty or so crusts! They test and test, every time, before they put something up in an article.

Lots of us cook here, in the AH. Some are damn good. There are occasional recipe and cooking experience kind of threads. Please chime in!

 

[MagicaPractica]

I have the "problem" the author mentions, of it rolling out in an irregular sprawl, but I always thought it just came with the territory. If you do it right, there's a lot of wastage at the edges. I have never sweated that. But this method evidently does fix that. I only tried it once, and let me say, it feels really odd to slosh so very much liquid in there! But such a well-behaved crust! And ALMOST as good as my usual.

Ahem.

3113, Cook's Illustrated is like this all the time. This guy actually baked a hundred fifty or so crusts! They test and test, every time, before they put something up in an article.

Lots of us cook here, in the AH. Some are damn good. There are occasional recipe and cooking experience kind of threads. Please chime in!

I don't take the magazine but I love America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Then I can get the current season's recipes online for free.