No Fail, Sour Cream Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter cubed
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Cut the butter into cubes, then set it somewhere warm for a couple of minutes so it loses its hard refrigerator edge. You do not want it soft, just slightly less icy before you begin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour briskly with the salt, leaving the salt out if you are using salted butter, and the sugar, if you are including it.
3. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour mixture. With clean hands, press and rub the butter into the flour using your fingers, thumbs, and knuckles until the mixture looks like rough crumbs with some thin, flattened pieces of butter still visible.
4. Add the sour cream to the flour and butter mixture, then use a fork to work it in.
5. Bring the pastry together with your hands into 1 large ball. Cut the ball in half with a knife, then shape it into 2 disks. As you form the disks, the dough should become smooth and feel like soft modeling dough. This dough can handle being worked a bit, so focus on shaping the disks without cracks.
6. Dust the disks lightly with flour on all sides, then wrap them snugly in plastic wrap. After wrapping, use the warmth of your hands to gently smooth the dough and seal any cracked edges through the plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or make it up to 1 day ahead.
7. To freeze the dough for later, add a second wrapping of aluminum foil and freeze it. Move it to the refrigerator overnight to thaw before you use it.
8. Once the dough has chilled for 1 hour, take it out of the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for 5-10 minutes so it is easier to roll. If the edges still feel too firm, cup them with your hands briefly to take off the chill.
9. Flour a clean, flat work surface before rolling. As you roll, keep checking that the underside is not sticking; if it is, lift the dough and dust a little more flour underneath. Roll the dough to an even thickness and a width of 12 to 14 inches.
10. Use this pastry for free-form rustic pies or galettes, traditional pies with 1 crust or 2 crusts, or a savory pot pie.
11. For a nicer finish on a galette or a 2-crust pie, whisk 1 egg in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of water. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to coat the exposed crust lightly.
12. This crust is tricky to blind-bake because its higher fat content can make the sides slide down when it bakes without filling. If you need to pre-bake it, freeze the formed crust for at least 30 minutes first, line it with heavy foil, fill it completely with white granulated sugar, and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.