Plain Short Pastry
Makes
one 9" to 11" shell (about 1 pound of dough)
8 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 ounces unsalted butter (10 tablespoons), cut into 1-inch pieces and chilled
(if butter isn't cultured add a squeeze of lemon to add some acidity == flakey)
6 to 8 tablespoons cold water
1) Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in lemon juice and water gradually, just until the dough begins to come together and the butter is in pea sized chunks.
Notes: Be careful to resist the temptation to add too much water. By squeezing and pressing, not kneading, the dough together it will become moist and cohesive. The butter chunks is partially responsible for the flakiness of the dough.
2) Turn out onto a floured work surface. Gather dough together, shape into a 3"x3" disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm before rolling out.
Note: When you roll out the dough roll out and in then rotate dough 1/4 turn.
Notes:
When making pastry it's very important not to let the butter warm. You can chill the mixing bowl, flour and use ice water.
Food processor notes:
Chill the butter in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Using the steel blad, pulse together the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse again until butter is the size of large peas. Add the liquid 1 tablesppon at a time, pulsing (not blending) briefly after each addition. You have added enough water when a spoonful of dough holds together when pressed. Run th efood processor until the dough just begins to ball up around the blade.
Storage:
You can keep dough up to four (4) days in the fridge or a month in the freezer. When frozen, thaw in fridge for 24 hours or 2 hours on the counter. The longer the dough stays in storage the more it dries out. Be aware of this when rolling out the dough.