PrintCook's Illustrated's Foolproof Pie Dough
When we talked to Cook's Illustrated publisher Chris Kimball about the November 2007 issue of the magazine, we asked what recipes really stood out in it this year. This pie crust is one of them, he said. "It's a brilliant recipe," Kimball said. "The secret ingredient in it? Vodka."
Foolproof Pie Dough
- makes one 9-inch double-crust pie -
The trick to this pie crust is the inclusion of vodka. Eighty-proof vodka, which is 60 percent water and 40 percent alcohol, adds moistness to the dough without aiding in gluten formation since gluten doesn't form in ethanol. Although the recipe includes 8 tablespoons of liquid, the alcohol vaporizes during baking, resulting in a tender crust that only contains 6 1/2 tablespoons of water. Because of the extra liquid, the dough will be moister than most standard pie doughs and will require up to 1/4 cup more flour.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water
Procedure
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
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8 Comments:
Fantastic, who would have ever thought about the vodka?
How did Kimball get this info, did somebody else suggest it? Was it an accident? Or did they actually think about the science of it to build the recipe around it?
Although I would love to give the credit to Cooks Illustrated my sneaky suspicion is that they heard this tip elsewhere and then investigated it...but I could be wrong!
Anyways...good job!
...cook, chef, culinary sponge, traveler, volunteer, missionary.
tyronebcookin
tyronebcookin at 8:54AM on 11/09/07
My money is on Chris Kimball and the CI team coming up with this one and perfecting it on their own--they are just that good with the science of cooking. I can't want to try this out!
PAWriter at 2:47PM on 11/09/07
I tried this recipe when the issue first came out, and I was stunned at how well it worked. It was certainly slightly disconcerting to process the fat so much, then add so much liquid into the other ingredients. My main pie crust recipe for ages was the previous one that CI had published (I finally figured out how to do pie crust from them).
When I pulled it out of the fridge after resting overnight, I rolled it out. The almost fondant-like feel of the rolled out dough really made me skeptical that it would be anywhere near as flaky and tender as my normal crust. It didn't tear at all and draped like a dream in the pie pan. I baked a pumpkin pie and just sprinkled the leftover dough with cinnamon sugar and baked. We ate the leftover dough first when it was done, and they were insanely good. The crust on the pie was the same, with plenty of sturdiness to serve the pie.
This recipe, particularly along with the explanation of their technique and science behind it, is the reason I still subscribe to Cook's Illustrated!
proccers at 4:30PM on 11/09/07
I wonder what it would be like to use flavored vodkas, such as vanilla, fruit flavors, or even pepper vodka for savory pies and tarts............. I bet it works really well.
seyo at 12:10PM on 11/13/07
sounds good. we can use any type of vodka?
lawtonchiles at 5:56PM on 11/19/07
mine was really wet I used artisan organic flour 3 g protein is it suppose to be this wet?
Nourishment at 10:22PM on 11/21/07
I made this recipe at Thanksgiving. the dough was very moist and pretty hard to work with but I rolled it out between two sheets of waxed paper which worked pretty well. It was, by far, the flakiest pie crust I've ever made! I'm sure I'll make it again.
Stephanie at 12:04AM on 12/15/07
Has anyone tried this with gluten-free flour?
PerkyMac at 2:57PM on 01/23/08