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 ↓
Plain Pie-crust
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Rub the cold shortening into the flour until well combined.
Add enough cold water to form a stiff dough, mixing as little as possible.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough lightly for two pies.
Use any leftover dough to cut small squares, bake them, and top with raspberry jelly.
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
- Shortening
- Stays in solid pieces within the flour, creating flaky layers and a tender texture when baked.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough once moistened with water.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven, helping the crust rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Add enough cold water to form a stiff dough, mixing as little as possible.. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, making the crust tough rather than tender. Keeping the water cold and the mixing brief helps the fat stay solid and the dough flaky.
“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.