Why it works: Flour and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,871 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Oil Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
Add the oil and rub it into the flour until well combined.
Gradually add the cold water, mixing until a dough forms.
Chill and handle gently
Handle the dough as little as possible and keep it very cold.
For best results, refrigerate the dough for a day before using.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Flour + olivetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,871 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the crust as its proteins combine with water into dough.
- Olive oil or refined cotton-seed oil
- Coats the flour particles, shortening the gluten network for a tender, crumbly texture.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour so the particles bind into a workable dough.
The step that matters
Handle the dough as little as possible and keep it very cold. Overworking lets gluten strands develop, which makes the crust tough. Keeping the dough cold and handling it briefly keeps it tender and easier to roll.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.