01
Red Wine Vinegar
6.01 tbsp : 2 tbsp
Bright sharp acidity; use 1 tbsp per 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, less sweet but good in vinaigrettes
6.0
pomegranate juice substitute
in pie crust.
Pomegranate Juice defines the filling that Pie Crust holds, contributing juiciness and sweetness. The substitute must set similarly when baked inside the shell.
top substitutes
adjustment for this dish
Red wine vinegar in the filling is sharper than juice and has no sugar; use 1 tablespoon per 2 tablespoons juice but whisk in 1 tablespoon water plus 1 teaspoon sugar per tablespoon to keep the filling from tasting harsh against the cold, flaky crust. Reduce the sweetened mixture by 25% on the stove before it meets the blind-baked shell.
technique for pie crust
technique
Pomegranate juice belongs in the pie filling, where pectin and starch set it into a sliceable jelly, not in the crust dough where acid would soften the flour pockets that create flaky lamination. Before pouring a 2-cup juice filling thickened with 3 tablespoons cornstarch into the shell, blind bake the crust at 400 F for 15 minutes with pie weights to seal the bottom; juice absent that barrier will soak the pastry and ruin flakiness.
Keep the rolled dough colder than 40 F until it hits the oven and dock the bottom with a fork in a 1-inch grid so steam escapes instead of puffing. Crimp the edge tall to contain the high-volume juice as it thickens and bubbles.
Reduce the juice by 25% on the stove first to concentrate color and flavor before you add sugar, or the filling slumps weepy. Unlike cake, where juice gets folded into batter and leavens, in pie crust it stays on the filling side and tests the crust's moisture resistance.
Rest the pie 3 hours before slicing so the starch fully sets.
pitfalls to avoid
watch out
Blind bake the crust at 400 F for 15 minutes with pie weights before adding juice filling; skipping this step lets acidic liquid soak into the flour pockets and kills flakiness.
watch out
Don't mix juice into the pastry dough; keep liquids to ice water and the fat in pea-size pieces so the cold lamination survives until the oven melts it.
watch out
Reduce the juice filling by 25% on the stove before pouring; a thin filling boils over the crimp and weeps under the crust, softening it from below.
watch out
Dock the bottom with a fork in a 1-inch grid before blind baking; undocked crust puffs and cracks, giving juice a route to soak through.
watch out
Chill the rolling step to under 40 F and rest the shaped crust 30 minutes in the fridge before baking; warm dough's flour pockets collapse instead of steaming flaky.