All-Butter Pastry Dough

french dairy dessert bake winter chill gourmet sugar conscious kidney friendly vegetarian pescatarian peanut free tree nut free soy free kosher

N/A

Makes enough for a 12-inch single-crust galette or a 9-inch double-crust pie

Source

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (not unbleached)

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

9 to 12 tablespoons ice water

a pastry or bench scraper

Method

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 9 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in food processor) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together with scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a 6-inch disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.