Makes 2 crusts - enough for top and bottom

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp sugar
* 2 sticks chilled butter, (about a cup if homemade) cut into pieces, unsalted



1. Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, and work it until mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Add 3-4 TBS ice water and work with hands until dough comes together. careful here! Add the ice water slowly as the amount needed will vary with the day, temperature humidity, and some ineffible quality you may hope to someday feel (at least I do). If the dough is still dry and crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 4 more tablespoons), but do not overwork because that will make the pastry tough.
3. Divide dough in half, and flatten both halves into disks. Wrap disks separately in plasticand toss in the fridge at least an hour or so.
4. To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface. Roll it a bit bigger than your pie pan to allow for the sides, loosen with a thin spatula and wrap around your rolling pin and carefully unroll into a 9-inch pie pan. Allow any excess to just hang hopefully about an inch or so.
5. Push gently into bottom and sides of pan.
6. Add your filling and repeat with the other crust. Crimp a rim with fingertips and knuckle to seal. This is a lost art, and I hope you can do a neater job than I can. Aesthetics aside make it reasonably tight so that your pie doesn't leak.

Bake your pie according the directions for the filling, maybe half an hour or so at 425. Watch as it browns. If baking empty (blind) for later filling, bake at 425 or 450 with pie weights or beans inside fro maybe 20 minutes, the remove the weights, poke the bottom with a fork in a few places, and bake for another 5 minutes or so until a nice golden brown.











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