somehow, making a pie dough is a stressful issue to some people, but it is really a lot easier then most people imagine. the secret is to stick to the right recipe and the right technique. the 2 most important points to making the perfect pie dough are the temperature of the fat and water and the method by which the dough is mixed. TEMPERATURE: use COLD COLD butter and water, the key is to keep the butter cold... this contributes to the flakiness of the piecrust. the piecrust should remain cold until the point it enters the oven. using a food processor is helpful for it's quickness. METHOD: cut, don't mix the butter. an overprocessed dough produces a crumbly dough rather than a flaky one. 1-second PULSES is the key. let the dough rest in the fridge for 2 hours before using. it is also helpful to roll the dough out between two layers of parchment paper. and chill before baking.
kitchen secret? the secret to making the perfect pie crust is to keep thing COLD... i mean ICY COLD. pop the food processor in the fridge if necessary. and freeze the butter for a few minutes before processing.
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basic pie dough
a single pie crust for a 9" pie
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 TB sugar
4 oz/ 112 g / 1/2 C / 1 sticks cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2 TB ice water
2 TB ice vodka (note: vodka inhibits the formation for gluten. it is essential to the flaky texture.)
1. process the 3/4 cup of flour, salt, sugar in a food processor until combined.
add butter and process until the dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps like cottage cheese, about 10 seconds without pulsing.
scape down sides and bottom of the bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around the blade.
add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse 4 - 6 1-second pulses.
2. turn the mixture into a medium bowl. sprinkle COLD vodka and water over mixture. with rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. flatten dough into 4" disk. wrap in plastic wrap and in the fridge for 2 hours or in the freezer for future use.
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this is a more delicate flaky pie crust then the standard, this is perfect for the
free-form tart.
pie dough for free-form tart
2 TB sour cream (or thick yogurt)
2 TB ice water
1-1/4 all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 TB cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (tip: leave it in the freezer for a few minutes before working)
stir together the sour cream and water. set aside in the refrigerator.
in a food processor, process the flour, sugar and salt until combined (four 1 second pulses).
scatter half of the butter pieces over the flour mixture and process to cut the butter into the flour (four 1 second pulses).
scatter the remaining butter over the flour mixture and pulse until 70% of butter is incorporated.
while processing, pour the sour cream mixture through the feed tube until the dough just comes together (about five 1 second pulses).
turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, flatten into a 6" disk, wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours or freeze for later use.
food shooting at the 
