Try freezing the flour overnight before combining with your other ingredients, it also helps to contribute to a very flaky crust. I also freeze my butter and combine all the ingredients in a food processor to reduce the formation of the gluten by the heat of hands when handling the ingredients.
The dough is then rested in the fridge for atleast an hour before rolling and baked in the lower half of the oven for a filled pie so that the bottom crust will cook before the filling makes it soggy. I got this tip from Rose Levy Beranbaum's pie book. It has been such a success that I now make shells for my family to put in the freezer for baking later.
December 21, 2014 at 1:16pm