Baking a flaky pie crust

In an effort to learn more about cooking and to get some ideas for meals, I have been taking the technique classes that Williams-Sonoma offers.  I am going to try to post some of the hints that I pick up at these classes here.

Today's class was on Fall Baking and one of the things that they talked about was how to make the perfect flaky pie crust.  Here are some of the tips that they passed along.

• Make sure that all of your ingredients are ice cold, i.e., the butter, the water (add ice cubes to the waters).
• Cube the butter into small pieces and put them into a stainless steel measuring cup and put it back into the refrigerator to make it ice cold.
• Keep the water in a stainless steel bowl until you add it to the mixture.
• Once the dough is mixed, shape it into a disc, wrap the disc in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• Avoid handling the dough too much.  This will toughen the dough and will not make for a flaky crust.
• If you have one, use a marble cutting board or counter top to roll the dough.  This will help keep the dough cold.
• When you are rolling the dough out, try to keep it in the shape of a circle.  
• Don't be afraid to cut the edge of the dough to help to get a circular shape.