Buttermilk Dough for Fried Fruit Pies

1 . Stage

Pulse flour, lard, sugar, and salt in a food processor until you have flour-covered pea-sized pieces, about 15 quick pulses. Add buttermilk all at once and process until the wet dough almost comes together.

2 . Stage

Generously flour work surface and scrape dough out onto it. Turn dough over to coat. Gather and fold dough over on itself a couple of times, then pat into a soft 4x6-inch block.

3 . Stage

Crisscross 2 long pieces of plastic wrap to form an X and lightly dust with flour. Place dough in the center and wrap tightly. Smooth wrapped surface with rolling pin; flip and repeat. Chill at least 4 hours or preferably overnight, or slip into a zip-top plastic freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.