Pate Brisee (Basic Dough)
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup ice water
Procedure:
Lay roughly three quarters of butter on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until hard, at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, refrigerate remaining butter.
Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add refrigerated butter and pulse to combine, about 10 times. Add frozen butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some blueberry-size clumps.
Add ice water and immediately pulse until just incorporated, about 10 times more. Squeeze a small amount of dough to make sure it holds together. Pulse a few more times, if necessary.
Empty dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Bring edges together to gather dough, pressing so it comes together into a mass. Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Roll out dough, still wrapped in plastic, to a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days; dough can be wrapped in plastic, then in foil, and frozen for up to 1 month.