Traditional Art of the Pie All-Butter Dough Recipe | Sur La Table (2024)

FAQs

Why is butter not recommended in the preparation a pie dough? ›

Despite the great taste of butter, some bakers don't like to use it for pie crusts because it's difficult to handle. “Butter is harder to work with than shortening because it melts at a lower temperature,” Huntsberger said. It can be hard to get a flaky pie crust with butter if the butter isn't handled very carefully.

A brush of butter (and maybe a sprinkle of cookie crumbs) adds moisture and texture. Since store-bought pie crusts have a tendency to dry out, our experts suggest using a moistening agent to imbue the crust with texture and flavor.

It is an unsweetened pastry typically used in savory dishes, though sweet dishes are known. The name "pâte brisée" translates to "broken pastry" in English, which refers to the crumbly or mealy texture of the dough.

It gives the baker control

Unsalted butter is Stewart's go-to fat for her pie crusts because, as she explained to Food & Wine, it allows the baker to have more control over the amount of salt in the recipe.

The higher fat percentage in European butters, like Kerrygold and Plugra, is ideal if you're working with pastries where the quality of your dough is directly effected by the quality of your butter. Both Kerrygold and Plugra scored high when making pie dough and had a luscious mouthfeel when tasted solo.

Vegetable shortening (Crisco) is the easiest to make. It has a higher melting point than lard or butter, and when making pie crust, keeping ingredients cold is paramount. That firmer texture will make it easier to get it worked into the flour without developing too much gluten.

Butter is prized for its sweet, rich flavor and is our preferred fat for pie crust recipes, but its low melting point and overall makeup can make it difficult to work with. Unlike shortening or lard, butter is not 100% fat.

In baking, many recipes call for an egg wash to be brushed on the baked goods before it goes into the oven. The purpose of this is to give the final product a golden brown color that is slightly shiny. Egg washes can make the final product look more professional, a bit crispier, or act as a binder."

If the butter is too warm, it will combine too well into the flour, making the dough hard to work with and the final crust tough or cracker-like. If you've had problems with your pie crust recipe, chances are the butter's to blame. Here's how to keep it under control: Start with cold butter, straight from the fridge.

Pie crust can be made with various fats such as butter or vegetable shortening, but pâte brisée is always made with butter. Also, pâte brisée uses a higher ratio of butter to flour than an average pie crust. Another difference is that some pie crust recipes include sugar. Pâte brisée does not.

What is the difference between puff pastry and pâte brisée? ›

Puff pastry is made by folding butter between layers of dough, turning, rolling, and repeating to create a flaky pastry with layers. Pâte brisée is easier to make and has a more crumbly texture. Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer.

Choux (pronounced "shoo") is a type of rich pastry dough used for making items such as éclairs, cream puffs (profiteroles), gougères and beignets, among others.

Both salted butter and unsalted butter can be used interchangeably in any recipe, but if the recipe calls specifically for unsalted butter, it's probably because the recipe has been tested with it and is preferred for that particular recipe.

If you're baking and swapping in salted butter, the excess water from salted butter may make more of an impact. This is because extra water can have an effect on how gluten reacts and forms within dough. Consider slightly lessening any additional water the recipe may call for.

Cons of Butter Pie Crust:

This pie crust dough can be a little more difficult to make, because the cold butter takes a little extra effort to work into the flour than shortening or lard. But we think it's worth the extra elbow grease!

As the dough is baked, the butter melts and creates steam, trapping it in the dough and creating air pockets. Once the dough has cooled, these air pockets become delicate layers of flaky dough. By this point, you've realized that butter adds more than flavor—it develops texture.

Butter in bread dough tenderizes the dough, making the soft, pull-apart texture of bakes like brioche, dinner rolls, and Pullman loaves. Standard bread dough (also called a “lean dough”)—just flour, water, salt, and natural or added yeast—relies on a strong, stiff gluten network to yield a chewy loaf.

In pastry making, butter plays a fundamental role because it makes the pastry ""waterproof"". At the same time, it adds crustiness and crumble to shortcrust and all dry pastries (small cakes for eating on the move, for example) and brings softness and creaminess to risen doughs.