Makes enough for a double-crust 9-inch pie
- Active time:15 min
- Start to finish:1 1/4 hr (includes chilling)
July 2009
Buttery, flaky, quick—this dough has it all.
-
2 1/2
cups
all-purpose flour
-
2
teaspoons
sugar
-
3/4
teaspoon
salt
-
2
sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-
1/3
cup
plus 1 to 4 Tbsp ice water
-
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl (or pulse in a food processor). Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water over mixture and 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 Tbsp at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
-
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and press into a ball. Divide in half and form into 2 disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
Cooks’ notes: - Dough can be chilled up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes before rolling out.
- Recipe can be halved if making a single-crust pie. Use a rounded 1/4 tsp salt and start with 3 Tbsp water.