After 30 years of making pies, I'm late to this party. But this is a GOLDEN tip! I always end up with a tough crust due to too much water, and always feel anxious racing against the cold butter. This solves both in one fell swoop. By breaking the process at the crumb stage, it takes the pressure off the race. And by having the flour and butter cold from the freezer, I can use just the right amount water and mix by hand without warming everything up. Plus, I now batch up and store four crusts per mixer wash, so triple good. Thank you!

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