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Before diving into the recipe, it's crucial to understand a few fundamental rules. The most important one? Everything must be ice cold. This means chilling your butter, flour, and even the water you'll add. Keeping ingredients cold ensures that the butter remains in small, flaky pieces rather than melting into the flour, resulting in a tender, layered crust.
Preparing the Dough: A Hack for Flakiness
Traditional methods involve cutting butter into small cubes and working them into flour with a pastry cutter. However, a clever shortcut is to use a box grater. Grating cold butter directly into the flour creates perfect small, flaky pieces quickly, eliminating the need for specialized tools. Simply grate the chilled butter into your flour mixture, stir it in, and you're on your way.