Tried a cold butter method for pie crust and got a total disaster

I always used room temp butter for pies because that's what my grandma did. Last week I read a blog post saying cold butter makes it flakier so I tried it. The dough was a crumbly mess that wouldn't stick together at all. After 3 tries I finally added ice water a tablespoon at a time and it barely came together. The crust came out tough and greasy instead of flaky like they promised. Has anyone else had cold butter just not work for them?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul11713d ago

Same thing happened to me. I tried the cold butter method after seeing it all over cooking shows and it was a nightmare. What finally worked was grating the frozen butter into the flour instead of cutting it in. That distributes the butter way better so you don't end up with those big chunks that leak grease. Also you gotta handle it as little as humanly possible, like barely mix it at all. Once I started using frozen grated butter and ice water from the start it finally came out right.

the_lisa13d ago

Paul117, that grated frozen butter trick changed everything for me too. One thing I figured out the hard way is that the temperature of your work surface matters just as much as the butter. If your countertop is warm from the sun or a sink of hot water nearby, that frozen butter starts melting the second it hits the flour. I actually threw my pastry blender in the freezer for 20 minutes before mixing, and it made a surprising difference in keeping everything cold.