Hitting the Sauce

My new issue of Cook's Illustrated (November/December) has an article entitled "Foolproof Pie Dough." For those familiar with this magazine, you know they go to great lengths to perfect each featured food item, detailing the process by which they come to said perfection. I find these articles very interesting. In this case, the chef made 148 pie crusts variations before arriving at a recipe that is 100 percent reliable...always tender and flaky. This recipe has an unusual secret ingredient...vodka. Why vodka? "Pie dough get its structure from gluten, long chains of protein that form when flour mixes with water. But too much gluten will make pie dough tough. That's why tradition pie doughs are so stingy with the water. I discovered that vodka lets you add more liquid (so the dough is easy to roll out) without toughening the crust. Why? Eighty-proof vodka consists of 60 percent water and 40 percent ethanol. While gluten forms readily in water, it does not form in ethanol. Thus, my recipe, which contains 4 tablespoons each of cold water and vodka, get the benefits of 8 tablespoons of liquid (supple, easy-to-roll dough) but actually has the equivalent of about 6.5 tablespoons of water - an amount that limits gluten formation and ensures tenderness. As for the alcohol? It vaporizes in the oven." (p.23)

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I have a bag of blueberries in the freezer just waiting to become a pie, so I think this will be a good time to experiment for myself. Here is the recipe:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4 inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.