Kate's Pie Crust of FLAKEINESS

Makes a single crust, flaky and awesome.

1 stick of butter, cold (but not frozen hard)
1 3/4 cup flour (unbleached or cake unbleached)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water or less, cold
      OR, experimentally, vodka

Whisk together salt and flour. Put this mixture into a food processor. Slice butter into pats and add it food processor; run this roughly 20~30 sec to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Add the cold water (or vodka) gradually, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, until dough forms up into a ball.

Roll out dough on floured surface or cloth to a thickness of 1/4 inch. DO NOT STRETCH DOUGH ever. Makes one crust.

For a one-crust pie, place crust into pan and poke all over with fork: this includes the bottom AND sides of the pan. Pre-bake at 425F until lightly golden, then fill and continue to bake at directed time and temperature until done.

Alternatively, line laid-out crust aluminum foil and fill partway with dried beans to weigh it flat; bake this ensemble for half the time necessary to prep the crust for filling, then remove the beans and foil and bake for the remaining time.