Don’t be put off making pastry. Whether you mix the dough by hand or you use a food processor, our recipe is as easy as…well, pie. Read our handy tips, too, and you’ll soon be baking up the flakiest, tastiest pies ever.
MAKES: enough for 2 single-crust pies or 1 double-crust pie
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
CHILLING TIME: at least 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ¼ to ½ cup ice water
INSTRUCTIONS:
TO MAKE PASTRY BY HAND:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, work it in until pea-size lumps of butter are just visible.
- Add ¼ cup of the water. Stir with a fork until the dough comes together. Add a little more water if the dough is dry. Don’t overwork the dough, or the pastry will be tough.
- On a clean work surface, gather the dough into a ball. Cut it in half and pat out each piece into a disc. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The pastry can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or put the wrapped pastry in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before using.)
TO MAKE THE PASTRY USING A FOOD PROCESSOR:
- In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse two or three times just to combine.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture. Pulse about 12 times, or until pea-size lumps of butter are just visible.
- Add ¼ cup of the water. Pulse just until the dough comes together. Add a little more water if the dough is dry. Don’t overwork the dough, or the pastry will be tough.
- Wrap, chill and store the dough as in Step 4 of the pastry by hand method.
