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Serious question, why do so many bakers swear by cold butter for pie crust?
I tested warm butter versus cold butter for my apple pie crust three times last month... and the warm butter version was way easier to work with and just as flaky. The cold butter method gave me tough spots and took forever to get the dough to come together. My warm butter crust, made with butter straight from the counter, rolled out perfectly in under five minutes and baked up nice and crisp. I think the 'butter must be ice cold' rule just makes things harder for no real gain. Has anyone else tried baking with room temp butter and gotten good results?
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margaret_jackson731mo ago
Huh, I wonder if it's about the type of flour too... I use a lower protein pastry flour and find I can get away with slightly cooler room temp butter, not fully cold. It still makes flakes but doesn't shatter like @phoenix_carter is talking about. Maybe the super cold butter is a must for all-purpose flour, which needs more help to not get tough.
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sagep191mo ago
Yeah, the flour type makes a huge difference. I had the exact shatter problem phoenix_carter described when I used all-purpose with butter that was just cool, not ice cold. Switched to pastry flour for a bit and it was way more forgiving, like you said. But going back to all-purpose, I really do need that butter straight from the fridge to keep it from getting tough. It's a different beast.
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phoenix_carter1mo ago
Way easier to work with" is exactly the problem, though. If your butter is warm and soft, it gets worked into the flour too much. You end with a mealy crust, not one with those little flaky layers. The cold butter bits create steam pockets. That's the whole science of it. Your warm butter might seem fine, but it's not the same texture.
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