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Flaky pie crusts and biscuits can be made by cutting and shortening of butter to the flour. The fat should be evenly sized, coated with flour and distributed throughout the mixture. When these fat pieces cook, they melt into pools, creating flaky layers. It's easier to cut in butter when your ingredients are cold. This way the butter is less likely to melt and lose its shape. Start with chilled or frozen butter in shortening, cut into small quarter inch cubes; flour can also be kept in the freezer.
First toss the chilled butter cubes with the flour. You can cut in the fat with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips; the pastry blender is the easiest utensil to use. It's a series of horseshoe shaped wires joined at the top with a straight wooden or plastic handle. You can also use two knives, one in each hand moving in opposite directions. If you use your fingertips, be as light and gentle as possible; don't touch the fat with your palms, or warmest part of your hands, use your fingertips which are cooler. For most recipes that call for cutting in butter, the fat should be the size of peas. Once you have cut in the butter, you can add ice water to the pie crust or crème or buttermilk to the biscuits.
Work quickly once you have added the liquid, an over-worked dough will be tough. Before rolling out your pie crust, let the dough rest in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This chills the dough which firms the butter and prevents stickiness when rolling out the dough. It also allows the glutton to relax, making it more elastic and less likely to shrink back as you roll it.
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