Pastry Dough (All-Butter Double)

Our goal was to create a supple, moist all-butter pie dough that rolled out easily and baked up tender and flaky. We first used the food processor to coat two-thirds of the flour with butter, creating a pliable mixture that was water-resistant. Then we broke that dough into pieces, coated the pieces with the remaining flour, and tossed in some grated butter. When we folded in the water, it was absorbed only by the dry flour that coated the butter-flour chunks. Since gluten can develop only when flour is hydrated, this resulted in a super tender crust. Holding back some of the butter, grating it, and adding it to the dough left a little more flour available to form gluten, so the crust had enough structure to support a flaky texture. After a 2-hour chill, the dough had hydrated completely and was easy to roll out.

20 Tbsp. (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
2½ cups (12½ oz) all-purpose flour, unbleached, unbleached
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ cup water, ice cold

Be sure to weigh the flour for this recipe. In the mixing stage, this dough will be moister than most pie doughs, but as it chills it will absorb a lot of excess moisture. Roll the dough on a well-floured counter.

Grate 4 Tbsp. butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 16 Tbsp. butter into ½" cubes.

Pulse 1½ cups flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, 40-50 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2" chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1 cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1" (most pieces will be much smaller), 4-5 pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.

Sprinkle ¼ cup ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. Use spatula to divide dough into 2 portions. Transfer each portion to sheet of plastic wrap. Working with 1 portion at a time, draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmLy on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into 5" disk. Repeat with remaining portion; refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)

Makes one 9" double crust.