Making Pie Dough Without a Food Processor

Do you really need a food processor to make pie dough?

Bakers were making pie dough long before the invention of the food processor, so we tested two low-tech tools: a pastry cutter and our bare hands. Cutting in the butter and shortening with a pastry cutter or rubbing it in with our fingers worked fine. Both methods did, however, take about five times longer than the processor method. Because of the added minutes and/or the warmth of our hands, the butter and shortening got a little greasy and warm before we were finished mixing. Freezing the fats for 30 minutes cooled them down sufficiently and bought us the time we needed to mix the dough without a machine before the butter melted.

THE BOTTOM LINE  Of course you don’t need a food processor to make pie dough. But you do need to chill the butter and shortening in the freezer for 30 minutes before you begin if you are mixing by hand or with a pastry cutter.