Kitchen & Bar

On this phone

How to get around

The bar across the top scrolls sideways. These are the same stops, with the job of each one written out.

Dough

Pie dough

Keeping butter in visible pieces and gluten underdeveloped, which is the exact opposite of bread and trips everyone once.

What you are actually controlling

  • butter temperature
  • water
  • mixing
  • resting
  • oven heat

Naming the dials is most of the difference between cooking and following. Everything below is a way of moving one of these.

How it goes wrong

  • tough
  • shrank in the tin
  • greasy
  • cracked when rolled
  • soggy bottom

If your result is on this list, the step it belongs to is named below and so is the way back.

The loop

Pie dough5 steps. Each step shows the cue that confirms it worked below the step, and above it the way it fails together with the correction that returns you to the same step.GOES WRONGA smooth, homogeneous,slightly greasy dough.1Everything cold,butter coldestLOOKS RIGHTFlat flakes of butterstill visible in the mixeddough.GOES WRONGA wet, springy, elasticdough.2Water in smallamounts, mixed as…LOOKS RIGHTIt looks too dry and holdstogether anyway whenpressed.GOES WRONGThe sides slump down thetin during the bake.3Rest before rollingand again before…LOOKS RIGHTIt rolls without crackingand holds its edge in thetin.GOES WRONGA pale, damp base under awet filling.4Bake hot, and bakethe base blindLOOKS RIGHTSet, pale gold, dry to thetouch in the middle.GOES WRONGThe rim breaks off withthe tin.5Cool in the tinLOOKS RIGHTIt lifts out in one piece.
Read down, not just across. Below each step is the cue that says it worked; above it, dashed, is how it fails and the correction that sends you back to the same step.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Everything cold, butter coldest

    Frozen grated butter, chilled flour, ice water. Butter that melts into the flour makes short pastry, not flaky.

    Looks right
    Flat flakes of butter still visible in the mixed dough.
    Goes wrong
    A smooth, homogeneous, slightly greasy dough.
    Way back
    Chill it hard for an hour and hope. Melted butter cannot be un-melted back into layers.
  2. 2

    Water in small amounts, mixed as little as possible

    Add water a tablespoon at a time until it just holds when squeezed. Every extra turn builds gluten.

    Looks right
    It looks too dry and holds together anyway when pressed.
    Goes wrong
    A wet, springy, elastic dough.
    Way back
    There is no fix that undoes gluten. Rest it an hour to relax it, roll it thinner, and expect it to be sturdy rather than tender.
  3. 3

    Rest before rolling and again before baking

    An hour cold after mixing. Then, once it is in the tin, thirty minutes cold before it goes in the oven.

    Looks right
    It rolls without cracking and holds its edge in the tin.
    Goes wrong
    The sides slump down the tin during the bake.
    Way back
    Shrinkage is unrested gluten pulling back. The second rest is the one everyone skips and the one that prevents it.
  4. 4

    Bake hot, and bake the base blind

    200–210°C. Weights in for the first twenty minutes, then out to dry the base.

    Looks right
    Set, pale gold, dry to the touch in the middle.
    Goes wrong
    A pale, damp base under a wet filling.
    Way back
    Back in for ten more minutes uncovered, and brush the base with egg white next time. A soggy bottom is set before the filling ever arrives.
  5. 5

    Cool in the tin

    Pastry is fragile until it is cold. It firms as it cools and not before.

    Looks right
    It lifts out in one piece.
    Goes wrong
    The rim breaks off with the tin.
    Way back
    Nothing, once it is broken. Wait longer next time — this is a patience failure, not a technique failure.

Watch somebody do it

Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.

Reviewed video for this technique. Reading a cue is one thing; seeing it is faster.

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