Basic Kneading

First and foremost, always let the dough rest in the coldest part of your fridge (not the freezer!) for the prescribed time; in many cases, you leave it to chill overnight. Then, when it’s time to work with the dough, let it sit on the counter for at least 5 minutes so it can warm up a tad, but will still be cool when you begin to work with it. Always use glutinous rice flour to roll out any kind of dough, be it for a pie crust or a loaf of bread, as this flour will not ruin the texture of the finished product. (Cornstarch, for example, creates a rubbery coating that will destroy a crust.) Dust the counter with glutinous rice flour then, rather than barely touching the dough as with a traditional short crust, you want to knead the dough until it’s very pliable. When you initially begin to handle the dough, it might be a little crumbly, which is normal, so don’t fret. Using the heel of your hand, press down firmly and gather all the pieces of dough into a ball. Pull the dough from bottom to top and fold it over in a clockwise direction. Repeat this kneading until there are no fissures in the dough and it looks like a smooth leather ball.