The Ultimate Pie Crust Recipe

Some important rules to follow for this great recipe for flaky, great tasting crust:

1. Keep ingredients well chilled. It will help prevent the butter from mixing uniformly with the flour, so that pockets can form among the flour particles. (translation: flaky crust!)

2. Use a combination of pastry flour and all-purpose flour. Different flours have different amounts of protein (a.k.a. gluten), which forms strands which form layers, which form flakes.

3. Once the butter gets down to pea-sized pieces, use the heel of your hand to smear them into streaks as you mix the dough.

1 3/4 cups pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup ice-cold water (approx) divided

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse together flours, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse 2-3 times. Add most of the water and pulse 2-3 times or until butter is in pea-sized pieces. Grab a handful of the dough; if it sticks together turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. If it doesn't stick together, add a bit more water, pulse 2-3 times and test it again.

Grab the dough with both hands and push it into a ball (it may not hold very well? Using the heel of your hand, smear butter into streaks by pushing butter pieces away from you. Do this of a minute or so until the dough is mostly cohesive; it may still be a little crumbly. Divide the dough into 2 balls and wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes before baking (or you may freeze them up to 3 months).

Yield 2 piecrusts