Just realized people are overworking their pie dough into tough crusts

I watched a neighbor in Des Moines spend 20 minutes kneading her pie dough until it was smooth, and I wanted to cry (you know, for the pie's sake). She told me her grandma always said to work it till it feels right, but that's just wrong for flaky results. Has anyone else had to diplomatically tell a friend their crusts are tough because they're overmixing?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt_shah8526d agoProlific Poster

Did you actually say something to her while she was doing it, or just watch in silence? Hard to fix someone's baking habits without risking a whole family feud over grandma's recipe. That's definitely a tough spot to be in.

benk2626d ago

Oh man, that's a tough question. @wyatt_shah85 I actually had a buddy who went through almost the exact same thing with his aunt at Thanksgiving last year. He said he just stood there frozen while she was creaming butter and sugar together with her bare hands, not even using a mixer. Didn't say a word because everyone in his family treats her like some kind of baking queen. But the cookies came out like hockey pucks and he had to pretend they were perfect. Whole situation is a minefield, honestly.