36 AUGUST 2019
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Flaky All-Butter Pie Dough
ACTIVE 35 MIN; TOTAL 2 HR 55 MIN
MAKES 2 (9-INCH) PIE CRUSTSThe trick to Nicole Rucker’s flaky
pie dough is the addition of acidic
ingredients (apple cider vinegar
and brown sugar) that help prevent
gluten from overdeveloping in the
dough. The recipe yields a tender,
flaky, buttery crust that’s easy to
roll out, browns deeply, and is
never tough or dense.(^1) / 2 cup hot water
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 tsp. unfiltered apple cider
vinegar (such as Bragg)
1 tsp. fine sea salt
23 / 4 cups all-purpose flour
(about 11^3 / 4 oz.)
1 cup cold unsalted butter
(8 oz.), cut into^1 / 2 -inch cubes,
divided
- Combine^1 / 2 cup hot water, brown
sugar, vinegar, and salt in a small
metal bowl. Stir until sugar dis-
solves. Place liquid in freezer until
very cold, about 20 minutes. Trans-
fer mixture to refrigerator, and chill
until ready to use. - Place flour and^1 / 2 cup cubed but-
ter in a large bowl. Pinch and smear
butter between your fingers. (Pro-
cessing butter like this creates
small leaves of butter that layer in
the dough, resulting in a flaky
crust.) Once all butter chunks have
been pinched, grab small handfuls
of flour and butter, and rub them
together between your palms until
mixture resembles uneven pebbles
on a sandy beach.
3. Dump crumbly mixture out onto
a clean work surface. Scatter
remaining^1 / 2 cup cubed butter over
dough. Use palm of your hand to
smear butter as if you were sliding a
secret message across a table. Use
a bench scraper to gather shaggy
dough, and repeat smearing pro-
cess until you have a pile of striated
rubble. Larger pieces of butter will
create a marbled dough and will
melt during baking, causing water in
butter to evaporate, resulting in
flaky pastry pockets.
4. Gather dough up in a mound, and
form a well in center. Remove cold
liquid mixture from refrigerator, and
pour half into well. Using fingertips,
slowly bring dough into center,
combining with liquid, until liquid
has been incorporated. Gather
moistened dough into a shaggy pile.
5. Slowly pour remaining half of liq-
uid onto pile of dough. Lift dough
from bottom, and squeeze just until
it comes together into a mass.
Divide dough ball in half (about 12
ounces each), and shape each half
into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic
wrap, and chill in refrigerator 2
hours before using.
MAKE AHEAD Pie dough tightly
wrapped in plastic wrap will keep in
refrigerator up to 2 days.
“All of our pies are very
rustic, and I think that
frees us from the stress
of having to have these
perfect-looking items
every single day. They’re
beautiful in their own
way.” —Nicole Rucker