Basic Flaky Pie Crust

She may call this basic, but I call it indispensable. I made her 'All American Apple Pie' with this crust, and it was perfect - flaky, crunchy, buttery and not hard to work with at all.

As with her other crusts, it's a little complicated - you freeze some of the butter in advance, then knead the whole amount in a plastic freezer bag when it's mixed. But the result tells the tale. This is now my default crust.

This was the first recipe I made from this book and it’s one that I keep going back to regardless of others I try. It’s an all butter crust that’s both tender and flaky and though I prefer to make it in the food processor, it’s just as easily made by hand.

Excellent for both sweet and savoury baking, I’ve used it to make several pies and tarts from this and other books; I used it most recently for this pear tart.

This is excellent--comes together in seconds in the food processor, rolls out with no trouble, bakes beautifully and tastes great. It's wonderful all-purpose crust.