Basic Pie Crust I

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 9 pieces
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 13 1/2 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into 14 pieces
• 4 1/2 tablespoons ice water

Recipe

• 1 process the flour and salt in a food processor for 20 seconds.
• 2 distribute the butter evenly over the flour and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15-20 seconds.
• 3 with the food processor running, pour the ice water in a steady stream through the feed tube and process just until the dough comes together.
• 4 knead the dough for several turns on a lightly floured surface to bring it together.
• 5 shape the dough into a thick disks (or 2 for a double crust), wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• 6 to roll out the dough, place the chilled dough between 2 pieces of waxed paper (helps tremendously in rolling out!) and roll it out to a circle 2 inches bigger than the size of the pie pan.
• 7 fit the dough into a 9-inch (greased) pie plate and trim the edges.
• 8 keep the crust in the refrigerator until ready to fill.
• 9 if prebaking the crust, refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes or stick in the freezer before baking (i always freeze it).