Chill your pie dough an hour before rolling it out for best results.

Is pumpkin or pecan pie an essential element for your holiday feast? A good pie becomes a great pie when the crust is flaky and tender, and a recent request reminded us that sometimes a key ingredient might be an unusual one.

Vinegar might seem odd in a pastry crust but, in her book, "Cookwise," Shirley Corriher explains that vinegar tenderizes flour by breaking down its long gluten molecules into smaller pieces.

"Gluten is protein ... so acidic ingredients are ideal for tender crusts," Corriher writes. Lemon juice, orange juice concentrate, buttermilk and sour cream are some of the other acidic ingredients that can be added to pastry recipes for that purpose.

As for other pie-crust tips, Annette Kunes of Crystal Lake, Ill., offered these pastry "secrets" learned from her mother:

• It's important that the water added to the dry ingredients is very cold. Adding some ice cubes to the water will ensure that it is sufficiently cold before adding to the flour mixture.

• Sprinkle the water over the flour mixture and keep adding it until the dough comes together. Kunes usually uses a little more water than the recipe calls for.

• Chill your pie dough at least an hour before rolling out.

• Do not overknead the dough. The less you touch it the better.