Why Your Pie Crust Ingredients Should Always Be Ice-Cold For Best Results

Using warm ingredients may be one way you're ruining your pie crust. Although gluten development is essential for chewy doughs or soft bread with a delicate crumb, pie dough is the opposite. Instead of requiring lengthy kneading sessions like bread making, pie crusts get their tender, flaky texture from a distinct lack of development in the flour's gluten. Colder temperatures inhibit gluten's ability to develop, and so a chilly atmosphere is essential for pie crusts, or at least cold ingredients. 

Recipes vary, but the three basic ingredients for a pie dough are flour, fat, and water. Measuring out all your ingredients before beginning can streamline the pastry-making process and lets you chill the ingredients beforehand. Chances are your recipe will call for cold, cubed butter as the fat. It's imperative to begin with cold butter, and an easy way to do this is to cube or slice your butter according to the recipe, place the butter pieces on a small plate, and put that plate in the freezer for a few minutes. The butter needs to stay cold so it doesn't melt into the dough, as the small pockets of butter surrounded by flour are what help to create flaky layers of crust. You can even place your bowl of flour in the refrigerator for about five minutes to chill. Most pie crust recipes require a bit of water to bring the dough together, so make sure to use ice water.

Whether you're using your hands, a pastry cutter, or a machine like a food processor, all the components used should be as cold as possible when making pie dough. While there is something nostalgic and satisfyingly tactile about using your fingers to incorporate the cold butter pieces into the flour, the warm temperature of your hands can quickly raise the temperature of your pie dough ingredients. If you prefer to use your hands to make the dough, we recommend using a chilled pastry cutter to minimize warming the butter, and dipping your hands in ice water frequently can also help to keep your hands cold. If the dough ever begins to feel too warm, soft, or overly pliable, place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before moving forward so it has a chance to chill again.

Test out these techniques, along with our fail-proof tips for homemade pie crust, for the ideal pie shell with our flaky pie crust recipe. The recipe uses a stand mixer, and if possible you should chill the bowl and dough hook for about half an hour prior to proceeding with the recipe. If you opt to use a food processor instead of a stand mixer, chill all the components other than the base before using so everything can stay as cold as possible.