Techniques › Baking and pastry
Cutting in butter
Intermediate Baking and pastry
Cutting in butter is working cold butter into flour until it's in small lumps — pie crust, biscuits, scones.
Written with AI help from the sources listed, and published by Cory. Spot a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.
How do you do it?
1Use very cold butter in cubes.
2Rub it in with your fingertips, a pastry cutter or quick pulses in a food processor, until the pieces are pea-sized.
Why does it work?
The little cold lumps of butter melt in the oven and release steam, puffing the dough into flaky layers.
What are the common mistakes?
- Warm butter — it blends in and the crust goes tough, not flaky.
- Overworking.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
Learn by cooking. In Pantry to Pan, technique words in your recipes' steps link straight
to guides like this one, right when you need them.
Try it free for 14 daysMore baking and pastry
- FoldingMixing something light (whipped cream, beaten egg whites) into something heavier without knocking the air out.Intermediate
- Creaming butter and sugarBeating soft butter with sugar until pale and fluffy — the start of most cakes and cookies.Beginner
- KneadingWorking dough by hand or machine until smooth and stretchy.Beginner
- Proofing (letting dough rise)Letting yeast dough rest and rise before baking.Beginner
- Blind bakingBaking a pie crust before it's filled.Intermediate
- ScoringCutting shallow slashes into the surface of bread dough, meat fat or fish skin.Intermediate