Flaky Pie Dough

Making pie dough is quick and easy as long as the ingredients are kept cold and they are mixed only until just combined. In a good pie dough, most of the fat should still be visible in small, separate lumps. Overmixing or using soft fat will cause too much fat to be blended into the flour instead of remaining in separate pieces. The result is a dough that is hard to work with—and worse, a baked crust that is tough instead of flaky. The flakiness of pie crust also depends a great deal on the