After cubing the cold butter, pop it into the freezer for another 15 min to make sure it’s really chilled. In the meantime, add the flour, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl.

When the butter is properly chilled, use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to “cut” the butter into the flour. The pastry cutter will help speed up the process but it’s possible to use two butter knives to cut and mix the flour and butter together. The flour will look like rough cornmeal with the butter pieces the size of peas mixed into the flour.

Slowly start adding the icy water (make sure no ice cubes fall in!) one tablespoon at a time. Mix with a fork first and then with your fingers. The amount of water will depend on how dry your climate is. Sometimes I stop at 6 tablespoons, sometimes I need 8. Gather the damp flour together and if it forms into a ball without completely crumbling apart, you can stop adding water. Be gentle at this point because you don’t want to overwork the flour nor underwork it. It’s perfect when it’s a smooth ball.

Cut the dough into two and form two balls. Wrap each dough in plastic wrap and use your palms to flatten them into a disc shape. Pop them into the fridge for an hour.

After an hour, if it’s really quite hard, let them rest for about 15 minutes before working with them. Flour your countertop and rolling pin and roll your dough to about 1/8 inch thick.

Preheat the oven at 425℉ (220℃, or 200℃ for fan forced). Place a large cookie pan in the oven to heat up.

Place it on a 9-inch greased pie pan and gently press down the bottom and sides. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the excess (make sure you have ½ inch extra from the edge of the pan).

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the bottom and sides of the dough with egg wash, and poke little holes on the bottom. This will help prevent a “soggy bottom” (thank you Great British Bake-off!) from occurring.

Fill the dough with the chicken/mushroom filling. Roll out the other dough and place that over the filled bottom.

Trim the top dough and you can either crimp the top and bottom together with your fingers or use a fork to press down the sides. Poke small holes on the top of the dough with a fork or use a sharp knife to make slashes. Brush egg wash on the top of the dough and on the crimped edges.

Place on the heated cookie sheet pan (another way to prevent soggy bottoms!) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. When it’s cooked it’ll be golden brown on the top and edges.

Your kitchen will smell so good while the pie is baking! Enjoy!