All-Purpose Flaky Pastry Dough

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and toss, separating the pieces and coating the butter in flour. Use your fingertips to quickly break and smash up the butter into smaller bits (it’s okay if some of the butter is still in larger pieces). Make a well in the center of the bowl and add 2/3 cup of ice water. Toss with a fork to distribute the water until you have a clumpy mixture with lots of dry spots.

Tip the mixture out onto a clean work surface. Use a bench knife, bowl scraper, or two table knives to chop up the mixture, breaking up clumps of butter and periodically using the scraper to toss and push the mixture back into a pile. Continue to chop and toss until you have small, uniform pieces about the size of a pea, with very few floury spots.

Push the dough into a pile and squeeze it with your hands so it holds together in large pieces. If you have some dry, floury spots, move any large pieces to the side and drizzle ½ tablespoon of ice water over them, then squeeze the dough again to bring it together. Repeat until no dry flour remains on the surface.

Use your hands to pat the dough firmly into a square, then use a rolling pin to flatten the square to ½ inch thickness. Be sure not to knead the dough. Cut into 4 squares.

Stack the squares on top of each other, and use the scraper or knife to lift the stack of squares and dust underneath with more flour. Use the rolling pin to flatten the stack to ¾-inch thickness, dusting with flour if the dough gets sticky. Cut the dough in half to make two equal parts, then shape each into a disk. Wrap in multiple layers of plastic wrap, then use a rolling pin to flatten the disks. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill, at least two hours and up to two days. If a recipe uses a single portion of dough, freeze the other portion for up to two months.

To roll out the dough, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften slightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to beat the dough evenly across the surface, lifting and rotating the dough every couple of whacks to keep the round shape, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Dust underneath and on top of the dough with more flour, then roll it into a round, turning every so often to make a circle. Dust with more flour as needed. Keep working until you have the size and/or thickness specified in the pie recipe. If it starts to feel sticky or soft, transfer the dough to a baking sheet, refrigerate for 10 minutes, and start again.