Fool Proof Vodka Pie Dough
Autumn approaches. A chill creeps into the night air and bushels of apples start to appear in farmer’s markets and grocery stores. Pumpkins and decorative gourds line the entrance of every store. This can mean but one thing: It’s pie season!😋 The most wonderful time of the year, when everyone’s thoughts turn to apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Fall isn’t the only time of the year for pie, but with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it certainly seems like the most popular time for this delectable treat.
No pie is complete without a buttery crust. Despite the saying, “easy as pie”—pies can be downright finicky, starting with the crust. Shortening, butter, water, vinegar, magic and old wives tales come together, too often, to form a flavorless block that’s either too dry and impossible to roll out or too wet and tough instead of tender.
That’s where my “Fool Proof Buttery Vodka Pie Crust” comes to the rescue. Precision, flavor and chemistry ensure a pie dough that’s easy to roll out and perfectly flakey and tender, no food processor required! Word to the wise: This crust works best if you weigh the dry and wet ingredients. There’s no room for estimations here. Weighing your ingredients means no more guessing about how many tablespoons of water to add to your dough before it’s ruined.
This crust rolls out easily right from the refrigerator, so keep it cold to avoid melting all that precious butter. And don’t skip the 8 hour rest. The flour needs time to fully absorb the water and vodka before it becomes a stable, workable dough.
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe.
Directions:
Combine water, salt and vodka in a glass or small bowl. Whisk to dissolve salt, cover and refrigerate until needed.
Place flour in large bowl and drizzle canola oil over the surface. Using hands, rub canola oil into flour until it disappears and flour clumps together like damp sand when squeezed in hand.
Add cornstarch and powdered sugar to flour and whisk thoroughly to combine.
Using the large holes of a box or flat grater, grate cold butter directly into flour mixture. Keep butter in the refrigerator until ready to start grating. Work quickly to prevent butter from melting.
Gently toss grated butter with flour to separate and coat the pieces in flour. Cover and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes to freeze butter.
Remove frozen butter and flour mixture from the freezer and drizzle cold water/vodka mix over the top.
Use silicone spatula to fold wet and dry ingredients together until no large dry pockets of flour remain.
Line a counter with plastic wrap by laying two large pieces of plastic wrap on top of each other in the shape of a cross.
Turn pie dough out into the center of the cross making sure the dough is evenly distributed. (If there are lots of loose pieces of butter, sprinkle them evenly over the top.)
Gather each corner of the plastic wrap and bring it together over the center of the dough to form the dough into one thick disc. (See video)
Unwrap disc and divide dough in half. Transfer each half to another piece of plastic wrap.
Fold cut edge of dough in towards itself to form a new smaller disc. Pat into a 6-8 inch disc, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hour before use.
To Use: Remove dough from refrigerator and place on floured counter. Immediately roll dough out to desired size. Do not let dough sit at room temperature or butter will melt. Transfer dough into pie plate, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before baking for flakiest results.
To freeze: After dough has been refrigerated for 8 hours, wrap again in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before sealing in a zip top freezer bag and freezing for up to 2 months. Dough can also be vacuum sealed (skip the aluminum foil layer) and frozen for 9-12 months. Vacuum sealing is my preferred storage method when freezing pie dough.
(Makes a Double Crust)
Ingredients:
284 grams All Purpose Flour
16 grams Cornstarch
16 grams Powdered Sugar
30 grams (2 Tbsp) Canola Oil
224 grams (2 Sticks) Cold Salted Butter (Keep refrigerated until needed.)
1 tsp Table Salt
80 ml Cold Water
80 ml Cold Vodka
Autumn approaches. A chill creeps into the night air and bushels of apples start to appear in farmer’s markets and grocery stores. Pumpkins and decorative gourds line the entrance of every store. This can mean but one thing: It’s pie season!😋 The most wonderful time of the year, when everyone’s thoughts turn to apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Fall isn’t the only time of the year for pie, but with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it certainly seems like the most popular time for this delectable treat.
No pie is complete without a buttery crust. Despite the saying, “easy as pie”—pies can be downright finicky, starting with the crust. Shortening, butter, water, vinegar, magic and old wives tales come together, too often, to form a flavorless block that’s either too dry and impossible to roll out or too wet and tough instead of tender.
That’s where my “Fool Proof Buttery Vodka Pie Crust” comes to the rescue. Precision, flavor and chemistry ensure a pie dough that’s easy to roll out and perfectly flakey and tender, no food processor required! Word to the wise: This crust works best if you weigh the dry and wet ingredients. There’s no room for estimations here. Weighing your ingredients means no more guessing about how many tablespoons of water to add to your dough before it’s ruined.
This crust rolls out easily right from the refrigerator, so keep it cold to avoid melting all that precious butter. And don’t skip the 8 hour rest. The flour needs time to fully absorb the water and vodka before it becomes a stable, workable dough.
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe.
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