Apple Cider Vinegar Pie Crust
If you're making it homemade, this Apple Cider Vinegar Pie Crust is the ultimate that captured our heart and to which no other compares. All butter delivers the must-have tender, flaky texture, and the hint of vinegar adds a subtly irresistible tang to perfectly complement all the pie fillings you love.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ice
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” pieces
Instructions
- Note: This yields crust for one single-crust pie and can be easily doubled for multiple pies or for a pie that will have a lattice or decorated crust top.
- Combine ice, water, and apple cider vinegar in a large measuring cup. Set in the refrigerator while you prep the flour-butter mixture.
- Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly to mix. Add the butter pieces and stir briefly to coat them with the flour mixture.
- Use a pastry blender if you have one to cut the butter into the flour mixture so that you wind up with mostly pea-sized pieces of butter. (Some larger chunks of butter are OK; it’s most important not to mix too much. If you don’t have a pastry blender, literally cut the butter into the flour mixture using two table knives.)
- Remove the ice water from the fridge and add 1/4 cup to the butter-flour mixture. Mix and cut it in with the pastry blender until fully incorporated, then add more of the ice water mixture to the dough, just 1-2 Tablespoons at a time, until the dough can be pressed together into a ball. It’s OK to have a few dry bits remaining. Just dampen your fingers and lightly press those dry bits into the dough. (You can do this in the same bowl you initially used to cut in the butter, or turn out the dough onto a pastry mat, whichever you find easier.)
- Shape the dough into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. (If making multiple crusts at once, portion into and wrap as individual discs at this point.) Refrigerate for at least an hour, ideally overnight, to let the tang mellow.
- Wrapped pie crust dough can keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If freezing, double wrap and store flat.
- When ready to bake the crust, roll it out with care, pressing gently and in only one direction from the center at a time (as opposed to rolling back and forth, back and forth). Let the crust stay relatively thick and do not stretch it at all to fit the pan.
- After filling the crust, brush a light wash of one egg mixed with 2 teaspoons of milk, cream, or water on the exposed crust to ensure it develops a golden, glossy finish while it bakes.
- Bake as directed in pie recipe of your choice. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Recipe from and technique adapted lightly from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. This book is full of exceptional recipes from an exceptional Brooklyn pie shop and makes a terrific gift.