Today I made pie crust for freezing using the same recipe: 1.5 cups flour, 12 T butter, 3/4 tsp salt, additional water as needed and either WITH one egg white or WITHOUT one egg white (egg beaters).

I made 5 pie crusts. 2 with the egg, 3 without the egg. I was not sure what the egg would do, so I only used the egg in two. It was obvious during cooking of the “trimmings” (for a nummy snack) from the first egg crust that there was a difference: the egg crust had butter weeping so much that the crusts were literally frying in butter in the oven. In fact, I had to actually remove from the foil they were on and transfer them (sans the butter that had weeped out) to another tray to finish cooking. The resulting crust snacks were VERY flaky, to be sure, but VERY tough…so much so that my extremely non-picky husband told me to toss them.

The crust snacks from the non-egg crusts were also flaky, but the butter seemed to stay incorporated (no weeping) AND the resulting crusts were so flaky that they crumbled if you put too much weight on them (for example, I had to make sure that I supported a half dollar sized snack, not just hold it by the corner or by the edges). They were flaky, but also very delicate and the butter did not weep out of the crust.

I tried again with a different batch of egg dough and non egg dough with the same results–the egg dough was tough, the non-egg dough was tender, but they were both flaky. VISUALLY they were both stunning in terms of flakiness (with the egg dough probably being more flaky looking), but the chew was expontentially different…the egg dough was just tough, tough, tough.

This left me in a bit of a dilemma–what to do with the two egg crusts? I ended up marking them “for pecan pie only” (as per my husband’s instructions) so that even if the crusts were tough, the insides were good enough to stand alone.

Yes, the egg dough was MUCH eaiser to work than the non-egg dough, but the cooked crust was SO INCREDIBLY tougher that it was very much a disappointment.

Now, I did use a different brand of soft winter wheat flour (I did not have any KA on hand). And I used an egg white instead of a whole egg. Perhaps that was the difference, but I doubt it. Egg is a notorious binder and it would stand to reason that an egg in the dough would cause the strengthening of the chains of proteins. However, do your own experiment and see, just in case I missed something, and if I am totally off base, please delete this comment. I do not want to lead anyone astray!

Stephanie

Stephanie, very interesting and thorough research. It’s amazing how many different ways there are to make something as simple as piecrust, eh? Thanks for the lesson - and I hope whoever’s reading this tries Stephanie’s experiment sometime and reports back. PJH

Thanks so much, Gail - we look forward to hearing more from you! - PJH

Linda, piecrust is a constant process for me. I LOVE pie, but have never been an “expert” crust maker. Always a work in progress. Like you, I think the rustic look covers a multitude of sins… PJH

Fran, you may have been tasting the bleach in the ready-made piecrust. Those piecrusts are made with bleached flour, which means the flour mfr. pours powdered bleach into the flour. All of us here at King Arthur, since we only bake with our own UNbleached flour, can taste that bitterness/chemical taste in bleached flour. Don’t know about you, but I’d rather not take a box of Clorox and pour it into my mouth… - PJH

In 35 year, I’ve never seen a South Carolina peach in New England - only those from California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Get your farmers to send some up! - PJH