Tried a microplane on cold butter for pastry, never going back to a box grater

Been baking pies for 12 years and always fought with cold butter chunks. Last Sunday I grabbed the microplane out of habit and shredded that stick in 40 seconds flat, no warm fingers, no sticky mess. Has anyone else found their old grater collecting dust after this trick?

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1 Comment

carr.xena17d ago

Box graters get way more control over the texture. Shredded butter melts into the flour too fast, so you end up with a denser, less flaky crust. I've done both side by side with the same dough recipe and the box grater pieces hold their shape longer in the oven. Plus cold butter straight from the freezer shreds just fine on a regular grater if you don't pussyfoot around with it. Different tools for different results, that's all I'm saying.