Foolproof Pie Dough

[GoDawgs]

Foolproof Pie Dough

from Cooks Illustrated (Nov/Dec '07 issue)
Makes one 9" double crust

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp table salt
2 TBS sugar
12 TBS (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

1. Process 1 1/2 cup of flour, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined, about 2 one second pulses.

2. Add butter and shortening and process until a homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. The dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour.

3. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and redistribute dough around the processor blade.

4. Add remaining flour and do 4-6 quick pulses until mix is evenly distributed and the mass of dough is broken up. Empty into a medium sized bowl.

5. Sprinkle cold vodka and water over the mix use the spatula to mix them in by folding, pressing down on the dough until it is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide the dough into two even balls and flatten each into a 4" disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate a minimum of 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

This rolls out easily, almost like play dough. It uses a bit more flour on the board than one would usually use.

[worth1]

Let's just make sure it isn't rot gut vodka.
They've got some pretty poisonous stuff out there.
I would suggest Skyy vodka.
Not expensive and smooth neutral taste.
Just in case you want to drink some.

[MarkAndre]

Thanks! I wonder if it could be made with gluten free flour? I’m betting it might really elevate a GF pie crust.

[GoDawgs]

I would suggest Skyy vodka.
Not expensive and smooth neutral taste.
Just in case you want to drink some.

There is no residual taste of vodka in the dough.

[worth1]

I would suggest Skyy vodka.
Not expensive and smooth neutral taste.
Just in case you want to drink some.

There is no residual taste of vodka in the dough.

Nor enough vodka to have a residual taste but I'm not critiquing your choice of vodka.
Just going by the old saying don't cook with what you won't drink.
In my opinion if vodka works a good gin would work better in some applications.
Another option and my opinion is use either leaf lard or at least ghee or clarified butter instead of butter.
When I make lard the first clear run is reserved for pastry.

I do recall a pumpkin pie slice someone gave me from Walmart..
The crust was like boot leather and about 1/4 inch thick on the bottom.
Comparable to sedimentary rock from the late Jurassic period.
I think I saw a dinosaur fossil in it.

[GoDawgs]

Ever tried making a Bloody Mary with gin instead of vodka? The lady who runs the little local package store gave me that tip and I tried it. There's just a subtle enough difference that I prefer it made that way now.