Use the pastry cutter or your fingers to gently mash the butter into the flour. Do not expect the butter to mix like it would if you were, say, creaming butter and sugar. There is not enough butter to mix completely with the flour. When you’re done cutting in the butter, your dough should resemble fine crumbs. [3] X Research source
Keep stirring until you have an even mixture. When you’re done, everything should be mixed uniformly together. You should be able to easily handle and form the dough.
Wash your hands then then form your dough into a loaf. You want to form a circular loaf of bread that’s about 8 inches across. Take sharp knife. Use it to cut a criss-cross pattern across the top of your loaf of bread.
If you have a gas oven, the temperature settings may not be 100% accurate. You should use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is actually at the right temperature.
