Note: Whether you need a shell for a sweet or for a savory filling, this recipe is easy to make and manages to be both flaky and sturdy at the same time. You can add a little more salt to the pastry if it is for a savory filling or, likewise, a little more sugar for a sweet filling.
Makes enough for 2 single-crust 9-inch pies or 1 double-crust 9-inch pie
Cut the butter into small cubes. Put the butter in the freezer while you measure out the other ingredients.
Put the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Scatter the butter over the flour and pulse quickly just until most of the mixture looks like very coarse cornmeal. The rest of the mixture will be coarser, and there’ll even be some pea-sized pieces. (This is the little secret most recipes don’t tell you! It’s OK—even necessary—for the butter to be of different sizes throughout.)
Take the top off the processor bowl and sprinkle eight tablespoons (½ cup) ice water over the soon-to-be-pastry. Pulse a few times and check the pastry by squeezing some between your fingers; the mixture should barely stick together. If it is at all crumbly, add some or all of the remaining water, one tablespoon at a time and blitzing as quickly as possible, until you get to that texture.
Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured countertop. Push it together, kneading it very lightly, just to get the whole ball to stick together. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a rough circle. Smooth the edges of the circles with the side of your hand. (You’ll be happy you made a nice round circle when it comes time to roll out the dough!) Wrap the pastry rounds in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. Or, if you’re making a one-crust pie, freeze one of the circles for later.
Take the pastry out to come to room temp about 15 minutes before rolling it out. Flour the countertop lightly and flour the top of the dough. Roll out the pastry to a 13-inch circle. Starting at one edge of the circle, roll the pastry up around the rolling pin, then unroll it over a 9-inch pie dish, centering it over the dish as best as you can. Gently press the pastry into the corners and up the sides of the pie dish. Trim the overhanging dough to ¾ inch and tuck that ¾ inch underneath to make a double-thick layer all around the edges of the pie plate. Crimp with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, and up to 2 hours, before baking.
