Your Pie Crust Has Been Begging For A Lard Incorporation

We all want our holiday pies to have the flakiest crust possible. But achieving that seems tricky even after you've followed every rule in the book, like using cold ingredients and not overworking the dough. Well, according to Ana De Sa Martins, executive pastry chef at Stubborn Seed in Miami Beach, your dough may be lacking a key ingredient: lard. While this fat is certainly a wildcard when it comes to pie crust, it enhances the texture.

De Sa Martins explained the difference between an all-butter pie dough and one made with lard. "Butter is more flavorful but more difficult to work with because of its lower melting point," she told The Takeout. "Lard is almost tasteless but makes super tender and flaky doughs." Since each fat has its pros and cons, she recommends combining the two in the dough for the ultimate pie crust.

When using two kinds of fat in a pie crust, we suggest a 3:2 ratio of butter to secondary fat (which is lard, in this case). This ratio is key for a flavorful and tender crust that complements your pumpkin, pecan, or apple pie filling. Beyond producing a flaky crust, lard can make forming the dough easier as well.

De Sa Martins pointed out that pie dough made entirely with butter is more challenging to work with due to its higher water content and lower melting point. "On the other hand, lard (which has way lower water content) is a more forgiving dough in terms of pliability." An elastic pie dough gives you less headaches because it's smooth and stretches nicely as you're rolling it.

Even after incorporating lard into the dough, De Sa Martins said you're not entirely in the clear if you don't allow it to rest properly. "One of the biggest mistakes I see people making with pie dough is cheating on the dough's rest time, which helps relax the gluten strands in the dough," she explained. "Doughs that have not rested enough are guaranteed to shrink significantly during the baking process."

Her simple solution is to let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, once it's shaped into a ball and after placing it in the pie dish. She also prefers blind baking the pie crust to avoid that dreaded soggy bottom which would inevitably result in a holiday dessert disaster.