Ingredients

makes 2 pounds

　　1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

　　2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1 pound (4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

　　1 to 1 1/4 cups ice water

　　2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

　　

Step 1

Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt into a large chilled bowl. Cut in the pieces of butter using a pastry knife until the butter is in very small lumps, about 1/2 inch in diameter.

　　

Step 2

Combine the ice water and the lemon juice, and stir into the flour mixture, a little at a time, pressing the dough together with your hands until it comes together.

　　

Step 3

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it into a 1/2-inch-thick rough rectangle, approximately 12 × 18 inches. The dough will be very crumbly. Fold the bottom of the rectangle toward the center, then the top of the rectangle toward the center, overlapping the bottom third, like a letter, and give the dough a quarter-turn to the right. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, 1/2 inch thick, and fold into thirds again. This completes the first double turn. Using a dry pastry brush, brush any excess flour from the dough.

　　

Step 4

Repeat the rolling, folding, and turning process 2 more times to execute another double turn, refrigerating the dough for a few minutes if the butter becomes too warm. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and put in refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.

　　

Step 5

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Repeat the rolling, folding, and turning process again to execute 1 more double turn. There will be 6 turns in all. The dough needs to be rolled out to a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle each time. With each turn, the dough will become smoother and easier to handle. Store the dough, wrapped well in plastic, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator).

　　Reprinted with permission from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics by Martha Stewart Living Magazine, copyright © 2007. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of The Crown Publishing Group.Buy the full book from Amazon.