What technique helps achieve a flaky crust in pastries?

The technique that helps achieve a flaky crust in pastries is chilling the dough before baking. When you chill the dough, you allow the fats, such as butter, to solidify. As the dough bakes, these solid fats create steam pockets, which contribute to the flaky texture. The cold dough also helps prevent the gluten from developing too much, which can lead to a tougher texture instead of a light, flaky one.

While docking the crust, blind baking, or adding more sugar can serve specific purposes, they do not directly contribute to achieving a flaky texture in the same way that chilling does. Docking is puncturing the dough to allow steam to escape and prevent bubbling, which is not about flakiness. Blind baking involves pre-baking the crust for certain recipes, ensuring it cooks through without becoming soggy; however, this doesn't impact the flakiness during the baking process. Adding more sugar can enhance sweetness or promote browning but does not enhance the flakiness of the crust. Thus, chilling the dough is the key technique for creating that desirable flaky texture in pastries.