Basic Pie Dough for Sweet Cherry Pie

1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse briefly. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix.

2. Divide dough in half, and turn out onto 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over each portion of dough; press to shape into 2 3/4-inch-thick disks. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days); dough can also be frozen up to 3 months (thaw before using).

3. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll 1 disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and sides of plate (do not stretch dough). Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang all around; refrigerate until ready to use. Reserve and refrigerate remaining disk of dough for top crust.

Cook's Notes

To make an impressive but fuss-free lattice crust, we use wider strips of dough, which areeasier to work with and make the crust a lot simpler to weave.