Why does nobody talk about how adding a pinch of citric acid to pie dough can make it super flaky?

I tried it last week on a whim after reading some random blog, and the crust came out so tender and layered I almost thought I grabbed the wrong pan from the oven, has anyone else messed with acids in pastry and seen weird results like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_christopher10d ago

My buddy Mike tried it once and his crust came out so flaky it looked like a pile of leaves.

owens.anthony10d ago

My neighbor Karen tried it with lemon juice instead and said the dough felt like play-doh, then it shattered into a dozen crumbs when she rolled it out. You ever see a grown woman nearly cry over a pie crust?

finleyl397d ago

Actually I gotta push back a tiny bit here. Lemon juice is a COMMON substitute for vinegar in pie crusts and it works fine if you measure right. The problem was probably her ratios or maybe she used bottled lemon juice which can mess with the chemistry different than fresh. That "play-doh then shattering" thing sounds like she overworked the dough first then tried to roll it too thin. Dough that falls apart like that is usually too dry or the fat wasn't cold enough. I've been there myself and it's frustrating but lemon juice alone isn't the culprit.