Method

Make the dough

1. Mix the flour and the salt in a dish.
2. Add the butter and mix in by kneading quickly and lightly with your fingertips. You should obtain a kind of coarse semolina in 2 or 3 min.
3. Stir in water. It takes very little to allow the dough to bind together and form a ball.
4. Once the dough has come together it is ready to use or cling wrap and save in the fridge for later (it will be a bit tougher when you pull it out as the butter hardens. No worries with a bit of a push it still rolls out nicely and you can patch any area that would crack with a small piece of the dough). You can also freeze any leftover dough.

Blind baking

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.
3. Using a rolling pin, carry the dough to your baking dish / mould and tuck it in with your fingers. You can leave the overhang to help keep the dough from shrinking, in which case you will shave it down once the pastry is cooked and cooled (step 6).
4. Line the pie crust with baking paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. You can also “dock” the crust by making dents across the base with a fork instead. If you can, place the dough back in the fridge before baking until the oven has finished pre-heating.
5. Bake for 20min or until cooked through.
6. If you left an overhang only: once cooled, use a serrated knife to shave the excess dough off the sides.