Back to Basics: Flaky Pie Dough

This is the basic pie dough recipe that I use for my pies and galettes. It is a very versatile dough that works well with both sweet and savory preparations. This recipe makes enough dough for 4 single-crust pies or galettes, or 2 double-crust pies. I usually try to have this dough in my freezer so that pie making is quick and easy.

Flaky Pie Dough

• 51/2 cups pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 9 ounces non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup ice-cold water

Place the flour and sea salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Turn on lowest setting, just to blend. Add butter and mix until well incorporated, the mixture should look like large grains of couscous. Add the shortening, and mix just well enough to blend, but you should still see large pieces of shortening. This will give you a flaky crust. Finally, add the water all at once and mix just until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and wrap in plastic, flatten into a disk, and chill for at least 1 hour before using. Unused dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days, or frozen for 1 month.