Leaf Lard Crust

Directions

1. 1
   Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
2. 2
   Add the lard and the butter, and cut them in with a pastry blender until the larger pieces are the size of peas and the mixture begins to clump on the pastry blender.
3. 3
   Shuffle through the mixture with your hands, pinching chunks of lard to flatten them.
4. 4
   Add 4 tablespoons of the ice water and mix with a fork.
5. 5
   Pinch a clump of dough in your hands: If it feels moist and clumps together easily, it's probably hydrated enough.
6. 6
   If it feels really crumbly, add another tablespoon or two of ice water until you can form a baseball-size clump of dough, packing it on as if you were making a snowball.
7. 7
   You want to mix the dough as little as possible to ensure it stays tender.
8. 8
   Divide the dough in half and form each half into a flat disk.
9. 9
   Wrap both disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
10. 10
    Thirty minutes before you're ready to roll out the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature to soften.