Grandma's pie crust recipe ruined my Thanksgiving

I know everyone swears by the ice water trick for pie crust, but I had to go against the grain after last Thanksgiving. I was at my sister's place in Portland, following my grandma's handwritten recipe to the letter, and the dough came out like wet concrete. Three tries later and I finally figured out it was the type of flour - she used a cheap store brand that's got less protein than the fancy stuff. I switched to all-purpose from the local market and it rolled out perfect on the fourth attempt. Has anyone else had a family recipe flop because of different flour today than what they used 40 years ago?

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charles5081mo ago

Oh man, I've been there with a different brand of flour totally wrecking a recipe. It's wild how much protein content varies between brands these days. I had a similar issue with my mom's biscuit recipe from the 80s, took me forever to figure out it wasn't my technique it was the flour. Your grandma probably used something like White Lily or a regional brand that's just not the same as the modern stuff. Try cutting your liquid back a little next time too, that usually helps balance out the higher protein content in today's all-purpose flours.