When baking in a really dry climate/season, the flour will be drier so it will take more time for the flour to hydrate fully. Supermarket flour is generally shipped and stored in ambient conditions before it hits the shelf. (Not sure if that is true of KAF, especially their whole grain flours.) Flour will have weeks or months to dry out in desert locations, high elevations and areas where is is extremely cold.
It will probably require more water, but use just enough water for the dough to barely hold together when squeezed -- if it holds its form easily, it is too wet. Let the unformed mixture rest in the fridge sealed tightly for at least a couple hours so the flour can absorb the moisture. After the flour hydrates, it will be easy to form into a disk. You may need to let the butter soften ~30 minutes before rolling.
My mother used to make the craggy-crumbly mixture in big batches a couple weeks before the holidays. She put it in mason jars, and used it for quick pastry appetizers, quiche, pies, etc. I doubt she even realized that was the secret to her delicate, flaky yet sturdy crusts. We were all transplants to the High Desert. The Southern ladies all despaired, whether they used lard, butter or Crisco, because the crusts that worked so well "at home" turned out like shoe leather in the foreign climate.
At high elevations, water boils at a lower temperature, so the flour/water in the crust takes longer to set and the filling takes longer too cook. You will probably have to bake the pie a little longer, but don't increase oven temp. Cover edges loosely with foil to prevent over-browning. Since it takes longer for the flour in the crust to set, don't skip the step to let the rolled crust(s) rest in the fridge at least 30 minutes before blind-baking or filling.
November 14, 2015 at 7:09pm
In reply to My question is how does atmospheric humidity factor in making a… by AZSobyrd (not verified)