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1
Beat the flour with the water and salt in an electric mixer just to mix a little.
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2
Add the butter, broken into pieces, and beat to mix a little.
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3
Do the rest of the mixing by hand.
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4
Press out the dough and fold into a piece about 5 inches by 7 inches.
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5
Flour a board, rolling pin and top of the dough and roll out to a rectangle about 8 inches by 21 inches, about 1/8-inch thick.
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6
The folding: Fold one-third of the dough over the other two-thirds and then fold the remaining third so that you have three layers.
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7
Press down, turn, flour and roll again into a 21-by-8-inch piece.
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8
Fold in thirds again and refrigerate for a half hour.
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9
Roll out again on a floured surface to form a piece 21 inches by 8 inches.
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10
Fold into a double fold.
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11
(Fold over dough so that the ends meet in the middle, then fold in half.)
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12
Repeat rolling and folding.
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13
Refrigerate for a half hour before rolling out to bake.
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14
Beat the dough with the side of a rolling pin to about a thickness of 1/3inch.
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15
Roll out as thin as possible, about 1/32 of an inch thick, and place in a 10-by-15-inch baking pan, lined with parchment or wax paper.
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16
Trim any dough hanging over the edges.
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17
Prick all over with a fork and refrigerate for one or two hours, or overnight.
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18
Transfer to a second 10-by-15-inch pan (pan cannot be chilled or pastry will not bake properly).
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19
Bake at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden.
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20
Cool and cut off edges, crush the trimmings and set aside.
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21
Cut into three lengthwise pieces.
