Just realized I was wrong about using cold butter in pie crust

Talked to my friend's grandma at a family dinner last Sunday. She said cold butter is fine but you gotta grate it first, not cube it. She showed me her pie crust and it was flaky like nothing I've ever made. Tried it on a apple pie Tuesday night and it came out way better than my usual method. Anyone else have a trick that an older baker showed them that changed how you do something basic?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige3315d ago

Grating frozen butter is the way to go. My neighbor's mom showed me the same trick a few years back. She told me to pop the butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before grating. Makes it way easier to handle and doesn't melt on the grater. Now I won't make pie crust any other way.

jana_shah5d ago

Did you grate the butter frozen or just straight from the fridge?

jason_lewis35d ago

Freezer for 15-20 minutes is the move. I tried grating cold from the fridge once and it was a mess. Butter smeared all over the grater and half of it stuck to my fingers. Never again. Frozen butter grates clean and stays in those little shreds instead of turning into a greasy blob. Plus it cuts into the flour way better when you're mixing. Makes a flakier crust too since the butter doesn't melt into the dough before it hits the oven.