Basic Pie Pastry Recipe
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
- Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until the texture resembles coarse meal with visible bits of butter. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water evenly over the mixture and gently stir with a fork or pulse until incorporated. Pinch off a small handful of dough; if it doesn’t hold together, add more water, ½ tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing after each addition.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the ball of dough in half, and pat into disks about ½-inch thick. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
