The Great John’S Perfect Pastry

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   ["The Great John's Perfect Pastry", "", "Of course, ""the great John"" doesn't measure anything - ever - but I pinned him down on several occasions and forced his ingredients onto the scales. The following recipe is the average mean of his marginally fluctuating amounts. If anything, increase the amount of lard by a little, but never go below.", "", "", "", "Put everything apart from the water in a food processor and whiz to fine crumbs. Pour in the water, and pulse just until the dough comes together. Immediately spill the mixture onto the countertop and press into a ball. Cut in half, pat each half into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour to rest.", "", "Flour a surface, heavily or lightly depending on the wetness of the dough, and roll out the dough to use however you like.", "", "Lard has a higher heating point than butter, so it can be baked, fearlessly, at quite high temperatures. If you're making a double-crusted pie, be sure to brush the top crust with egg glaze (an egg beaten with a teaspoon of water) and then scatter over a handful of sugar (for sweet pies) or fleur de sel (for savoury).", "", "Bake your pie - whether flat, double-crusted, free form, or whatever - at 400u00b0F/200u00b0C, until deeply golden on top, and beautifully flakey and crisp throughout, 40 to 45 minutes.", "", "You see? Wasn't that worth stopping and taking notice for?"]

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.