There are a million recipes out there but this is the one I make over and over for both sweet and savory pies and galettes. The important thing is to use butter at fridge temperature, and very cold water. Handle the dough sparingly and don’t make it on a hot day, crank the a/c if it’s summer or make it at night and chill for the following day. You want to see little specks of butter in the dough as you roll it out, you don’t want butter softening to the point where it disappears into the dough or you lose the flake and get tough crust.

You Need:

A cheese grater

A kitchen knife

A large bowl (I like a heavy one like a Mason Cash so it doesn’t wobble around)

Measuring spoons and cups

A piece of Bee’s wrap or cling film

Ingredients:

• 4 cups pastry flour 
• 1 ¾ cups unsalted cold butter (3.5 sticks)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg 
• ½ cup ice cold water

Method:

Sift the flour and salt into the bowl. Add the egg to the half cup of cold water, mix it in and set aside. Grate the sticks of cold butter into the flour. Blend the butter further into the flour with a knife, trying to get flour around each little butter piece. Slowly add the egg and cold water to the mixture. Work with your hands to press the dough into a ball. You may need to turn it over a few times while pressing it together. You may also need to add a few more drops of water if you have a lot of flour not integrating. Once it’s a ball, place it into the wrap and put it into the fridge for a few hours at least before you bake with it.

Tips:

Lightly flour your surface, flour your rolling pin. Cut the ball in half with a sharp knife (it’s enough for two pie crusts or a pie with a full lid. ) Roll slowly into a circle. Avoid handling the dough as much as possible. Follow the temperature of the recipe you are following for the pie. A lot will depend on what is baking inside.