I finally figured out why my pie crusts kept shrinking in the pan

I spent months wondering why my crusts would pull away from the edges every time I baked a pie. Turns out I was overworking the dough and not letting it rest long enough in the fridge - I'd give it maybe 15 minutes instead of the full hour. Last weekend I let it sit for 45 minutes wrapped up and used cold butter cubes instead of grated. The crust came out perfect, no shrinking at all. Has anyone else had luck with a different resting time or method?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarak178h ago

Gotta disagree with you on the grated butter thing. I've been doing grated frozen butter for years and my crusts don't shrink as long as I keep the rest time right. I think your problem was more about skipping that full hour rest. I do 30 minutes in the freezer wrapped tight and it works great. Overworking the dough is definitely the bigger issue though, not the butter shape. You can grate or cube it either way as long as you chill it long enough.

oliver2428h ago

The "overworking the dough is definitely the bigger issue" part got me thinking. Last week I made a batch of scones and I was rushing, so I dumped everything in the food processor and just let it run. Ended up with hockey pucks. But I also noticed the butter was almost fully mixed in, no visible chunks at all. So yeah, I think you're right that how you handle the butter matters less than how much you mess with it. My grandma used to cube her butter with a knife, took forever, but her crust was always perfect because she barely touched the dough. I've been trying to be more like that lately.