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Everyone should have a go-to pastry dough recipe that they can rely on every single time - well this is mine, and it has never let me down! Pastry or pie dough can be challenging. Even though you carefully measure/weigh all your ingredients, it could still just not be a good day for pastry dough. My magic ingredient - vodka!

I just realized that I’ve been blogging for a little over a year and have not once expressed my love for vodka in a cocktail. That will have to be in another story. Today let me tell you why I love vodka in my pie dough. Adding vodka does not change the taste of the dough, but truly does something magical in forming a reliable flakey crust every time! So what I refer to as “magic” others, might call “science”, so I went to one of my trusted sources, America’s Test Kitchen, when intrigued by the science behind baking.

"The use of vodka enables the addition of more liquid in a form that does not develop gluten, which otherwise would make the pie crust tougher," says Guy Crosby, certified Food Scientist, former science editor at America's Test Kitchen, and author of "The Science of Good Cooking" and "Cook's Science." "The alcohol in vodka does not develop gluten like water does. So adding vodka adds liquid that helps to make the dough more workable and pliable without developing tougher gluten."

So that’s the scientific explanation from someone a lot smarter than me. But why do I add vodka to my pastry/pie dough? When I combine water and vodka into the dough, I feel like I’m making a much more reliable dough. Adding the vodka makes the dough feel more moist, but not wet, and is much easier to work with than a dough made from just water.

I have seen other recipes that include distilled or rice wine vinegar in addition to water. Similar to vodka, vinegar also does not develop gluten. So if you’re not comfortable adding alcohol to your dough, try vinegar and let me know how it turns out. Personally, I never have an issue with adding vodka to anything, and I always have it in the house - did I already mention it is my favorite cocktail?!

Besides the addition of my favorite magical ingredient, the best advice I could give you when making a pie would be to practice making pie! I’m sure you’ve heard that baking is science, right? Well, pie dough is something you have to experiment with. It’s visual while it’s in the food processor, waiting for the pea-size shapes to form. It’s touch and feel when you’re trying to decide how much more liquid to add. Even after you’ve let the dough rest, and are starting to roll it out, you have to make sure you’re not adding too much extra flour and drying out the dough that appeared perfect a few steps earlier in the process. Be brave and experiment, and more importantly have fun with it. Once you master pastry dough you can make so much more than just pie!

Now, with all that said, I am not opposed to a store-bought frozen pie crust or a refrigerated pie crust. There is always a frozen pie crust in my freezer for a quick quiche or a last-minute dessert idea. No judgment here!

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Go make some memories in your kitchen!