Pie Dough

INGREDIENTS:

2 c AP (or whole wheat) flour

3 T sugar

1 t salt

1/4 lb butter

1/2 c water

yield: 1- 9" pie shell (2" deep) or 8- 6" dough circles

Cube up your butter, yes, butter, not margarine, not lard... butter, and cut into your dries. Since this is such a small batch you can just incorporate it with your hands, but a pastry cutter also works. I got my pastry cutter at Goodwill for $.99. It doesn't have to be anything fancy.

You want the flour to mix with the butter until it becomes pebble-like.

Add your water. Depending on how wet your flour is, you may need a little more water.

Mix with a fork. You don't need fancy tools for a good pie dough, just a little patience and a lot of love.

I normally stop mixing when the dough is no longer dry and will hold its form when you squeeze it together.

Gently press into a bowl using your knuckles.

Cover with plastic and set in the fridge for at least 45 minutes. Cold dough makes a more flaky crust. You don't want the butter melting into the dough.

After your dough has chilled, flip it out onto a well floured surface.

With your palm, flatten the dough.

Roll out dough and then flip over and sprinkle with flour.

Fold in half, rotate clockwise for 1 turn (folded side that was at the top is now on the right). Roll out and fold in half again. Shape into a rectangle.

Cover with plastic and put into the fridge for another 30 minutes.

Roll until dough is about 2 ft in length. Fold both ends in towards the middle. Then fold together like a book.

Once you have the dough folded in on itself you it's finished. Roll out dough in the shape of a circle for a pie (make it bigger than your pie dish, you want to have enough to crimp at the top), or rectangle to cut out circles. I cut my circles by putting a cereal bowl on top of the dough and cut around it. Right between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick (a little thinner for the galettes, a little thicker for the pies).