All Butter, Really Flakey Pie Dough

Yield: 2 9-inch pie crusts

2 ½ cups ) flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp table salt

2 sticks (8 ounces or 1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into chunks and kept very cold before using

½ - ¾ cup very cold water

Instructions

1.Measure the flour into a large, wide bowl. Whisk in the sugar and salt. Toss in the butter cubes and coat them all with the flour. Using your first 3 fingers of both hands, mash up the butter into smaller pieces, just bigger than the size of peas. You can also do this with two knives or a strong pastry blender. I prefer using my fingers.

2.Once the mixture looks sort of uniform, slightly crumbly, and the butter is broken up, stir in a ½ cup of water with a rubber spatula until the water is absorbed and the dough starts to come together. If the dough is still dry and crumbly, add the remaining ¼ cup of water. Bring the dough together with your hands until it forms a soft and almost loose ball. Divide the pie dough in half and transfer one half to a sheet of plastic wrap and mold it into disk, about 1-inch thick. Use the plastic wrap to help bring the dough together, if needed. Repeat with the remaining dough.

3.Chill the dough disks in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before using. You can keep this dough in the fridge for up to a week or up to 2 months in the freezer before using. Roll the dough directly from the refrigerator (do not allow it to come to room temperature - remember you need to keep the butter really cold) or if frozen, allow the dough to rest in the fridge for one day before rolling.