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1
By hand: Place the flour and salt in a bowl and mix well.
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2
Coarsely grate half the butter, then add to the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives and cut in to blend.
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3
Add the lemon juice, then add 1/4 cup ice water.
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4
Mix gently with your hands, then try to pull the dough together.
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5
If the dough is still dry and will not come together into a mass, add a little more water as needed.
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6
Using a food processor: Coarsely chop half the butter.
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7
Place the flour and salt in the bowl of the processor, add the chopped butter, and process briefly to the texture of coarse meal.
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8
Add the lemon juice and 1/4 cup ice water and process briefly.
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9
If the dough is still dry and will not come together into a kneadable mass, add more water as necessary.
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10
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, until evenly moist and smooth.
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11
Place in a plastic bag, flatten to a disk, and seal well.
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12
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
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13
(This basic dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
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14
When ready to proceed, place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
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15
You want to flatten it out to a rectangle about 16 inches long and 10 inches wide.
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16
(Ater being chilled, the dough will be a little moist; lightly dust any sticky places with flour and keep surfaces lightly dusted.)
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17
First use a lightly floured rolling pin to flatten the dough, then roll it out, rolling from the center outward.
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18
Use a dough scraper as necessary to unstick it from your work surface.
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19
Set aside, lightly covered.
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20
Use a sharp knife to cut the remaining 1/4 pound frozen butter into thin slices.
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21
Put it in a food processor and process until the butter stops making banging noises against the sides (about 30 seconds).
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22
Stop and feel the texture of the butter: There will probably still be small lumps.
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23
Process for another 30 seconds and test again.
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24
The butter should be a smooth paste still quite stiff with cold, just spreadable, like a thick cream cheese.
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25
Pulse and test again if necessary until you get the right texture (up to 2 minutes total).
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26
Place the dough with a short end facing you.
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27
Use a long metal spatula to spread half the butter onto the bottom two-thirds of the dough rectangle, leaving a 1-inch margin at the bottom and sides.
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28
Fold the top third over, toward the center, then, like folding a letter, fold the bottom third over that.
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29
Dust very lightly with flour and rotate 90 degrees, so that once more a short end is facing you.
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30
Roll out, rolling from the center outward, until once again the rectangle measures about 16 inches long and 8 to 10 inches wide.
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31
Spread the remaining butter evenly over the bottom two-thirds of the rectangle, leaving a margin as before, and again fold over first the top third and then the bottom third.
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32
Lightly dust the dough with flour, rotate it 90 degrees, and roll out to the same-sized rectangle.
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33
You need to do two more foldings (known as turns), not to enclose any more butter, but just to create more layers.
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34
Fold the top third of the dough over the center, then fold the bottom third over that.
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35
If the dough is starting to get springy and to resist, you may want to let it rest for 5 minutes; cover and refrigerate it any time you let it rest.
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36
Rotate and then roll out and fold the dough for the fourth time.
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37
Chill for at least 30 minutes before using.
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38
You can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days, or freeze, well sealed in plastic, for up to a month (make sure that the dough lies flat and that the edges do not get bent over).
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39
To thaw, place frozen pastry in the refrigerator.
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40
To use the dough, dust the work surface with a little flour, because the dough will be a little moist.
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41
Use a lightly floured rolling pin to flatten the dough, then roll it out, rolling just to the edges, not over them.
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42
Just before baking, trim each edge with a sharp knife to create a clean edge so the pastry can puff as it should.
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43
Save the trimmings: Assemble side by side to make a patchwork of dough, or dust the trimmings with sugar and bake on a baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes at 425F to make a delicious snack.
