Foolproof Pie Dough (With Vodka!?)

Submitted by Chef PotPie

"I am so excited about this recipe! I just found it in Cook's Illustrated Magazine, November, 2007. I just may enjoy making pie crust again! The article is by J Kenji Alt."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 1 pie
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 2 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1⁄2 cup chilled vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
• 1⁄4 cup vodka, cold
• 1⁄4 cup cold water

directions

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 homogenous 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.

Reviews

[MarySC]

I have used a lot of different pie crust recipes and this one is the easiest and the best. A few hints will help! First, I did not transfer to a bowl but just added the cold liquids gradually while pulsing the food processor. Then plop the dough onto 2 pieces of plastic wrap and use the wrap to gather up the dough and form it into disks and wrap up. (The dough will seem to be impossibly wet!!) I recommend chilling at least 2 hours or freezing for a half hour. You really can use a good bit of flour when rolling out; do it between sheets of wax paper or just use the plastic wrap the disk was wrapped in on the counter. Brush off excess flour from the dough surface. Chill 15 minutes after rolling out and then chill another 40 minutes in the pie plate. For a baked crust, bake at 400 degrees on lowest oven rack wiith pie weights for 15 minutes then unweighted another 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown, shielding the edges if necessary. <br/>(I keep my pie weights in a large cooking bag (made for cooking a turkey). Just plop the whole thing in the crust, remove and cool and wipe the bag off if necessary before storing it!)

 

[SassyStew]

Wow, I am no longer ashamed of my pie crusts! Easy to roll out and very tender and flaky. That said, there is an outrageous amount of fat in this recipe. I think I will just adopt the vodka idea for my regular recipe that calls for 12 Tbsp total for a double crust.

 

[Abby Girl]

I used to be very intimidated with pie crust, because my DH grew up on pies. The dough rolled out quite easily and you didn't smell the vodka. I think you might be able to stretch the dough out for 3 small pie crusts. I left out the egg wash at the end and after the pie was finished cooking, I sprinkled the top with white sugar. That was a trick that I learned from the dear MIL!! I found this recipe in the Cooks Illustrated, so I am glad that it was already posted!!!

 

[Brit in Texas]

Wow it really does work! It was so easy to roll and you couldn't smell or taste the vodka. I used it for recipe #31128 Yummy Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie for Thanksgiving and it was great. I did see this in Cook's Illustrated, but I'm grateful to you SusieQusie for posting it as I always know where Recipezaar is but don't always know where my magazines are! Thanks.

 

[Ilovemy4kids]

Pastry making terrifies me mostly because I am so terrible at it. The pie crusts almost always turned out heavy and all patched up due to their being torn during the rolling out part. This gem of a recipe is a fabulous find. My crusts were so easy to roll out, and they were light and flaky. I cannot thank you enough for this one. Love, love the recipe. Thank you for sharing. Oh... since I used this to make a savoury pie, I only used 1 tsp of sugar, and that was enough for our taste.