INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp ground spice, optional but recommended!

8 oz butter, cold, thinly sliced

¼ - ½ c ice water

1 Tablespoon to 1/4 cup vanilla extract, as needed

NOTES

*I like to add a little spice to my dough, usually adding some coriander. Depending on what my filling is going to be, I’ll sometimes add cardamom, cinnamon or whatever other spice I’m in the mood for!)

*I like to slice my butter in thin pats whenever I’m making something where I want to end up with thin butter flakes - pie crust, biscuits, etc. It gives you a head start, especially if you’re making by hand.

*Cold is key when it comes to pie dough. The basic idea is you want nice flat flakes of butter throughout the dough so that when it bakes, the water in the butter evaporates and creates a bunch of little pockets of steam, which create the flakes. So, keep your butter cold (I usually slice it and then throw it back in the fridge while I measure everything else out), use very cold or iced water, and don’t walk away in the middle of making it and come back to finish later. (If you need to walk away, just put it in the fridge first!)

*This recipe as is works great for savory galettes, pot pies, and quiche. But savory treats get even more delicious if you swap the 3 tablespoons of white sugar for 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, add some ground black pepper and a 1/4 tsp of cayenne!

*Think of your water and vanilla together as the total liquid you’re going to want to use. So add some water, then a little vanilla, a little more water, and some more vanilla as needed. Vanilla is alcohol-based, which will bake off in the oven and create more of those precious steam-pockets!

*Feel free to play around with different flours! I often use all-purpose. At the bakeshop, I’d use Shepherd’s Grain Low Gluten flour for most recipes. It’s delicious to swap 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with the same amount of rye or whole wheat pastry flour. Experiment!

Measure the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, plus any spices you want to add) into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Top with the butter and pulse until just breaking up (you still want to see some bigger pieces). Use a spatula to scrape down. While letting the machine run, pour in some of the water. Start with 1/4 cup, then add some vanilla.  

Dump the mixture into a medium size mixing bowl and use your hands to bring the dough together. If there are still very dry clumps, or it’s not coming together, sprinkle in some more water and add more vanilla extract as needed to help bring together.

Form into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill well. (2 hrs or more; overnight is recommended. This is about giving the dough time to hydrate and rest, not just chill so sorry, the freezer isn’t a great short-cut here. But - if you’re making dough ahead of time for say, Thanksgiving, wrap well in plastic wrap then throw in a sealable plastic freezer bag and freeze. Pull out and defrost in the fridge 24 hrs before you want to use.)

TIPS TO GET READY TO BAKE:

Each disc will make two single crust or one double crust pie. Or two large galettes…or 8 individual serving size galettes!

*Start by slicing the disc in half so that you have two thinner discs (not into two fat half-moons). Then roll out on a well floured surface into large circles — about 14” - 16” or so, depending on how thin you like your crust. (Don’t be worried about two much flour, dough sticking and tearing is way more frustrating than a little extra flour.)

*If you’re doing the small galettes, start by cutting the disc into 8 wedges, smash those into a rough ball and roll out to about six inch rough circles.

*Try and roll with from the center pushing out, and rotate your dough disc so that you’re evenly pushing out in all directions. (Try not to push-pull back and forth. Think that you’re trying to communicate to the dough what you want it to do and which direction you want it to go. If you push it out one way and then pull the same dough back in the next motion, it’s gonna get confused. Try not to confuse your dough. ;))

Follow your pie or galette recipe for bake times, etc! But also - don’t be an underbaker! Get that crunch! Get that deep golden brown! Most pies in the world could benefit from at least a few more minutes in the oven.

Remember - the baking powder will make this puff, so be sure the edges are supported and within the pie plate…not hanging over the edge or they’ll expand and fall off and break!