Pastry Dough

Submitted by mejese313

"Basic is best when it comes to piecrust. There’s no need to fiddle with this multipurpose flaky pastry. MAKES ENOUGH FOR 1 (9-INCH) SINGLE-CRUST PIE OR 1 (9- TO 11-INCH) TART SHELL http://www.gourmet.com"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Yields: 1 pie crust

ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3 -5 tablespoons ice water

directions

1. Blend together flour, butter, sugar, 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. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
2. 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.
3. Gather all dough together with pastry scraper. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.
4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
5. If you’re making two desserts that call for this pastry dough, you can make a double batch.
6. Pastry dough can be chilled up to 2 days or frozen, wrapped well, up to 3 months.