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1
To mix the dough by hand, combine flour, salt and baking powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well to mix.
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2
Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and add to dry ingredients.
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3
Toss once or twice to coat pieces of butter.
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4
Then using your hands or a pastry blender, break the butter into tiny pieces and pinch and squeeze it into the dry ingredients.
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5
Keep the mixture uniform by occasionally reaching down to the bottom of the bowl and mixing all the ingredients evenly together.
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6
Continue rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse-ground cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visible.
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7
Sprinkle the minimum amount of water over the butter and flour mixture and stir gently with a fork -- the dough should begin holding together.
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8
If the mixture still appears dry and crumbly, add the remaining water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together easily.
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9
To mix the dough in the food processor, combine flour, salt and baking powder in work bowl fitted with metal blade.
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10
Pulse 3 times at 1-second intervals to mix.
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11
Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and add to work bowl.
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12
Process, pulsing repeatedly at 1-second intervals, until the mixture is fine and powdery, resembles a coarse-ground cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visible -- about 15 pulses in all.
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13
Scatter the minimum amount of water on the butter and flour mixture and pulse 5 or 6 times -- the dough should begin holding together.
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14
If the mixture still appears dry and crumbly, add the remaining water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together easily.
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15
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a disk.
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16
Wrap and refrigerate the dough until firm, or until you are ready to use it, at least 1 hour, or up to several days
