Short-Crust Pastry

From Time/Life's Foods of the World - The Cooking of the British Isles, 1969:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ¼-inch bits

2 tablespoons lard, chilled and cut into ¼-inch bits

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

In a large, chilled bowl, combine the butter, lard, flour, salt and sugar. With your fingertips rub the flour and fat together until they look like coarse meal. Do not let the mixture become oily. Pour 3 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture all at once, toss together lightly, and gather the dough into a ball. If the dough crumbles, add up to 1 tablespoon more ice water by drops until the particles adhere. Dust the pastry with a little flour and wrap it in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

Note: If you are not making a sweet pastry, substitute ½ teaspoon salt for the ¼ teaspoon salt and the 1 tablespoon sugar in the recipe above.