Pastry Dough Recipe (The Best Pie Dough)

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons chilled all-vegetable shortening
• 3–4 tablespoons ice water

1. Cut the butter into small bits.
2. Mix flour, salt, and sugar in medium bowl Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or two forks. Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas.
3. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into ball with your hands, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disc. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.
4. For a 10-inch regular or a 9-inch deep-dish single pie shell, follow recipe for The Best Pie Dough, increasing flour by 1/4 cup and butter by 2 tablespoons.
5. For a double-crust 8- or 9-inch pie, follow recipe for The Best Pie Dough, increasing flour to 2 1/4 cups, salt to 1 teaspoon, sugar to 2 tablespoons, butter to 11 tablespoons, shortening to 7 tablespoons, and ice water to 4 to 5 tablespoons. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, before shaping into discs.
6. For a double-crust 10-inch regular or double-crust 9-inch deep-dish pie, follow above variation, increasing flour by 1/4 cup and butter by 2 tablespoon

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