I've always been inconstant in pie crusts. Getting the right amount of water into the dough is very tricky. Too little and you have dry dough you can't roll out right, too much and you have easy dough you can roll out but a tough pie crust. So I tried this with a cherry pie yesterday and it worked great. I had an easy to roll out dough and a very flaky not tough crust. The 40-50 percent alcohol in Vodka makes the dough wet enough to roll. Then it cooks out while baking and does not react with proteins in the flour to toughen up the crust like water does.


Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup).

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 (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold
1/4 cup cold water
Instructions

1.

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).I pulsed mine until it resembled cheese curds. 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.

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.
You will look at the dough and swear it it's ruined but it's not. Use a lot of flour while rolling.

 

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Wow I'll give it a shot my pie crusts have always been iffy. Sometimes great other times ehh lets not go there

A half cup of liquid? Holy crap, that's a lot!

I might have to try this, just to see how it turns out. I've made pie crusts for so many years I don't even use a recipe anymore.

Silver

 

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The vodka seems unnecessary but other wise it looks similar to the best dough recipe that I copied years ago from Food & Wine if I remember correctly may be it was Joy of Cooking. Any way the trick or secret is the 50 / 50 mix of butter and oil/shortening it will be both flaky and light.

 

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They make some awesome pre-made refrigerated doughs nowadays .... I never bother with making pie crust.

 

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This *shrug*

 

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Julia Child would jump up out of her gave and beat me with a spatula!

 

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No, really, she wouldn't.

It's okay to take short cuts if you're purchasing good products.

I have made many pie crusts (and would even like to try that recipe) but sometimes cutting a corner isn't so terrible

Give yourself a break every once in while, you deserve it.

 

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the store bought pie crusts that i have tried are better than any pie crust i have tried to make.

It's always been the opposite for me! Well, I don't make pies that often, but I always had used the refrigerated pie crusts since I didn't know how to make my own crust. Then my mother made a pie crust and it was the most absolutely heavenly thing I've had to date. Every time my mom makes pie crust I start to drool a little (meaning a lot).

That doesn't mean I wouldn't ever use a storebought crust again in a pinch though!

 

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