Pastry Dough: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Makes enough for a 9-inch pie

Basic is best: When it comes to piecrust, there's no need to fiddle. This simple dough will elevate any of the fillings here.

November 2006

Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
For a single-crust pie, drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture. For a double-crust pie, drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture. Gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
Turn dough out onto a work surface. For a single-crust pie, divide dough into 4 portions; for a double-crust pie, divide dough into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together with pastry scraper. For a single-crust pie, press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. For a double-crust pie, divide dough with one half slightly larger, then form each into a ball and flatten each into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

Cooks’ notes:

For sweet pastry dough (single crust), add 2 tablespoons sugar to flour mixture and proceed with recipe as directed.
Dough can be chilled up to 2 days ahead.

Recipe by Lillian Chou