Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Good Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a large bowl, rub the lard and butter into the flour until well combined.
Add a pinch of salt.
Gradually add cold water until a soft dough forms.
Handle the dough
Mix just until combined; do not overwork the dough.
Handle the dough gently to keep it soft.
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 + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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 main structure of the crust once hydrated and mixed.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to keep the crust tender and short.
- Unsalted butter
- Adds flavor and creates flaky layers as it stays in pieces.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour so the mixture binds into a cohesive dough.
The step that matters
Mix just until combined. Overworking the dough develops gluten, which makes the crust tough and chewy instead of tender. Stop mixing once the dough holds together.
“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.
More pie crust recipes
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.