Transform your pies and tarts with a perfectly buttery, flaky crust! This is a very simple recipe and if you've ever baked a pie crust before, you can master this technique for easy flaky pie crust in no time!
Prepare the dough. Mix the flour and salt with a fork or whisk. Add 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes of very cold butter. Start by adding water a tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to come together. It will still be crumbly, but you should be able to squeeze it and have it hold its shape somewhat.
Chill the dough for 1 hour in the fridge or 20 minutes in the freezer.
Between pieces of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a large rectangle shape. Keep the dough pretty thick - about 1/2 inch. Use any pastry folding technique you like. I am fond of folding in thirds. Fold the left third over the center third and then fold the right third over both pieces. In the earliest part of the folding process, I used my bench scraper to help lift the messy dough.
Continue folding and rolling until you have completed 4-6 folds. If your dough is starting to stick to your rolling pin, the dough needs to be chilled.
Once your dough starts to smooth out and look less bumpy, you are towards the end of this process. You can use your bench scraper or a pizza slicer to straighten out your edges, if you'd like. Roll out your rectangle, but make a book fold. Fold both of the outside edges into the center of the rectangle until the edges meet. Then, fold the two halves towards each other like a book (see pictures above).
Wrap the dough in the parchment and let it chill again for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
Bake according to your recipe instructions (generally start high at 400-425)