Flaky pie dough

I got this recipe years ago while browsing a book by Nick Malgieri. If you love making pastries and desserts, his books are a must have. Most of his recipes that I've come across are very simple and uncomplicated.

I make this dough often, so often that the recipe has reserved a little space in my head for itself. It's great for any kind of dessert tart or pie. I even use it to make savory pies and quiches. You can't ever go wrong when a recipe calls for a generous helping of butter!

Flaky pie dough recipe

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Ingredients for 1 crust pie
Double ingredients for a 2 crust pie.

• 1 1/4 cups allpurpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, place allpurpose flour, salt, baking powder and cubes of butter together.
2. Using your fingertips, coat cubes of butter with the dry ingredients and break apart the pieces of butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs (as pictured above).
3. Add a tablespoon of cold water and mix. If the dough is still dry, add a little more water until dough comes together. It should not stick to your fingers.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a disk. Refrigerate for 30mins to an hour before using it.
   

Note: If your kitchen is warm, you might find your dough becoming too soft to handle. Pop it in the fridge for several minutes for the dough to firm up again.