FOOD NEWS
The Most Tender Pie Crust Ever Relies On One Zesty Ingredient
BY KJ Lannon
If you want your pie to have the tenderest and flakiest crust possible, add some lemon juice to the dough. Just swap in the juice for a teaspoon of the water you add to the crust.
The juice's acid will keep gluten from forming, yielding a tender pastry rather than a tough, chewy one. It may also give the crust some zing, which works well in many fruit pies.
Since the amount of liquid you add to pie dough depends on the humidity in the air and the moisture in the flour, you must add the juice right after mixing butter into the flour.
From there, you can add as little or as much water as you need to help the dough come together, keeping it nice and cold so that the butter doesn't melt before you start baking.