Butter Vs Lard In Pie Crust: A Pastry Chef's Pro Advice

The holiday season is here, so you're probably planning out which pies to make. If you're new to pie making, then you may be wondering which is better to use in your pie crusts — butter or lard, the latter of which is another type of fat. To settle the debate, Daily Meal spoke with an expert: Meghan Brophy, the Executive Pastry Chef at Pastis Miami.

Brophy explained, "Both butter and lard have their advantages when making pie crust. Butter will produce a better overall flavor and has a higher water content, providing steam, which can aid in producing a flaky crust. Lard has a higher melting point than butter making it easier to handle and lessens the possibility of overworking the dough."

The best solution? Use both. Brophy says she prefers to use a combination because it results in a pie crust that benefits both the butter's flavor and the lard's flaky tenderness. Daily Meal's recipe for our favorite pie crust uses a combination of butter and vegetable shortening, but try out the butter-lard combination, you can swap out the shortening for lard with a one-to-one ratio.

Whether you're choosing to work with just one or you're taking Meghan Brophy's advice of using both, there are some things you should keep in mind when making your pie crust — such as how the two fats work differently. Brophy explains, "Lard-based dough will be more pliable due to the softer nature of the fat. This will make the dough less susceptible to cracking when rolling. On the other hand, butter is much harder when it is cold, which will make the dough slightly more difficult to handle." With both types of doughs — lard-based and butter-based — Brophy says that the dough needs to be chilled before you roll it. This step is to make sure that the "fat stays intact" and isn't overworked.

If you're going for a golden brown crust, then butter is the better option since lard doesn't brown as easily. However, if you'd prefer to use lard for its flakiness, then Brophy suggests using egg wash to help brown it up, a step that should be done just before the pie goes into the oven. Additionally, Brophy notes that a lard-based dough may be the better option if you're making a lattice crust — or any other intricate cutout — because it's much more pliable. But again, Brophy insists that the best pie crust is made from a combination of butter and lard/shortening, so that's certainly the ideal route to take for the best pie recipes this holiday season.