Pastry Dough
I make this pastry dough on a leisurely weekend when I want to treat myself to a small quiche for lunch, or a fruit pastry for dessert. Then I store the rest of the dough in the freezer, so I’ll have it on hand if family or friends show up unexpectedly, or if I feel like making something for myself one night that requires a pastry topping, such as Beef and Kidney Pie (page 34). I use a food processor to make the dough, because it is so easy, and if you measure the pulses carefully as you are mixing the dough, you can’t go wrong. I learned from Lydie Marshall, that incomparable French-cooking teacher, the trick of saying “alligator” out loud to determine the length of each pulse.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Spin the flour and salt in the food processor for a few seconds to mix. Cut the butter, which should be very cold, lengthwise in quarters, then cut it quickly into small chunks and dump them in with the flour. Process in spurts eight times, pulsing just long enough to say “alligator.” Put an ice cube in a cup with 3 tablespoons water, then sprinkle the water over the dough. Pulse again 8 times, saying “alligator” each time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and gather it together. If you find that there are dry spots where the dough won’t hold together, sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon more ice water over the dry areas.
Step 2
Now you are going to perform what the French call the fraisage, meaning that you smear the dough out in fairly small increments, then gather it together again. When it has all been smeared, cut off the amount of dough you will be using for your immediate need, shape it into a flat disk, wrap it in wax paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling it out. Freeze the remaining dough in however many pieces you wish, wrapping each disk tightly in plastic wrap.
