Flaky All Butter Raspberry Peach Pie

Making this pie is my ode to Summer with its peaches and raspberries, and simultaneous welcome to Fall with it just being pie.

Let's face it - pie is work. 
I try to tell people it's not that hard because I truly believe it isn't. 
Then I recently took the time to show my mother-in-law how to make pie from scratch. We started the night before so that the pastry had time to rest over night (more on that later). The usual protocol: cold butter, toss, rub, cut-in, pea-sizes, cold water, press together, wrap up, refrigerate. I used the steam-roller method that I describe in my cookbook which makes the ultimate flaky pie dough by literally forming flattened discs of butter that get held together by flour to make a shaggy dough.
The next day I start rolling. Half for the bottom layer, half for the top. Dust the work surface and dough with flour as you go to prevent sticking. And as she's slicing up 3 lbs of fruit she says "Pie is a lot of work, man!"

Homemade pie is 25 million times better than shop-bought and it is 110% worth the effort.
The truth is that it really is not that hard. BUT, it requires time and likely some decent clean up if you are like me and make your dough right on the counter top. Flour is probably everywhere.

When you think of pie, what's the first thing that comes to mind? For me - FLAKY.

And the #1 rule for making flaky pastry: make it COLD and bake it HOT!

That means:
Keep the fat cold.Keep your hands cold.Keep the bowl cold.Keep the oven HOT.
Flaky pastry requires pliable solid fats so the trick is to avoid melting. Melted fat becomes oily, leaks water and tends to stick to the dough.

Let's recap the steps to making flaky pastry:
Step 1. Cut cold butter into small cubes.

Step 2. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Step 3. Using both hands, rub about 2 tablespoons of cold fat into the flour with your fingertips so it is well dispersed and the mixture looks like damp sand.

Step 4. Add remaining cold fat and use a pastry cutter (this is my all-time favourite one - it is strong and fits comfortably in the hand) to mince the butter into smaller pieces. If using your hands, press the butter between your thumbs and forefinger + middle finger to break it up into small bits about the size of hazelnuts or peas and flatten some pieces out too.
Step 5. Grab a fork and gently toss the mixture while you sprinkle in ice cold water just until the mixture starts to hold together in clumps but doesn't get soggy.

Step 6. Press it all into a ball, turninig it over onto itself one or two times if necessary, and then flatten into a disc.
Step 7. Wrap with plastic and chill at least 2 hours.

The aim of Step 3 is tenderness - finely dispersing some of the fat evenly into the flour so that it is well dispersed will coat and separate small particles of flour from each other (like a moisture barrier) to achieve a tender texture. This serves to protect wheat proteins from linking up to form gluten which would make the pastry too strong and chewy like bread dough. Instead it will be crumbly and tender. It will also prevent it from absorbing too much liquid which can lead to a soggy crust. 

But, we don't just want tender. We want FLAKY. 
The purpose of Step 4 is to incorporate cold butter into the flour so that it ends up looking like rubble. Larger bits of fat will flatten out as you roll the pastry and create layers that separate stronger dough. That leads to flakes. On the other hand, if the fat bits are too large then they will just melt and leave gaping holes in the pastry - not a good scene. Aim to have most of the cold fat incorporated rather well and evenly dispersed with a few larger bits no bigger than the size of hazelnuts. It also helps to put the bowl with the cut-up fat and flour into the freezer for 5 minutes before adding any liquid. 

Dribble cold liquid into the dough until it comes together to form a mass but does not form a smooth ball. Pie dough knows no smoothness because that means it is over-worked, tired and not-so-flaky. Wrap it up in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up the fat and hydrate the flour.

If you are using part lard or shortening, then there is more room for error since these fats contain no moisture (remember butter is only 82% fat and melts at a lower temperature than lard or shortening).
Use only enough liquid as it takes to make a shaggy but cohesive dough. Too much water will promote gluten formation and elasticity.

Let's take a closer look at some key ingredients:

Lard or shortening (trans fat free please)
Fat tenderizes because it is insoluble in water, so it coats flour particles and prevents them from cross-linking and forming a gluten network. Shortening and lard have a higher melting profile than butter. That means that it will withstand the temperature of your fingers (because you are making the dough by hand, right?) and resist melting more so than butter. This provides more insurance that your fat will remain solid in the dough, and solid fat is required for flakiness. 

Butter 
Butter adds unmatchable flavour to pastry. Bottom line - butter is better, so never replace all of the butter with alternative fat in a recipe because shortening is essentially flavourless and butter is sensational. Making pie dough is a balancing act between function and flavour.
Acid 
Lemon juice or white vinegar will lower the pH (increase the acidity) of the dough. Acidity may interfere with bond formation between gluten proteins in the flour, resulting in a softer, more tender texture.

Why rest and chill pie dough before rolling and baking?

Resting the dough in the refrigerator will firm up the fat and allow the water to become absorbed and more evenly distributed. This makes the dough easier to work with. Rolling chilled dough will press solid fat into flattened sheets which separates flattened layers of dough for flakiness. The end result is a laminating effect with layers of flour aggregates that are mostly untouched by the fat alternating with layers of fat particles embedded with flour. Some gluten develops in the layers of flour and the fat layers melt upon baking to leave spaces between sheets of dough.

What temperature should you bake your pie?

Initially it is important to bake the pie at a very high temperature (400-425 degrees F) to both set the dough layers before the fat melts completely and to set the crust before the fruit filling makes it soggy. This rapid heating also causes the ~16% water in the butter to evaporate so that the steam separates dough layers.

How to get that golden pie crust?

Whatever you do, don't go to the effort of making a lovely pie and then not brush the crust with egg. What a shame that would be! An egg wash is the ultimate signature of home-baked pie. A whole egg will do, but for that ultimate golden shiny crust, combine one yolk with 2 teaspoons of water or milk and brush it lightly all over the surface just before baking.

You are ready. Make that pie! Make it easy.