Pie & Pastry Bible: knead dough in freezer bag?

'gloppy' is a term I'd associate with a wet mass, but, maybe that's not the point.

The point of using plastic when making a pastry dough is to keep the bits of it together. Pasty doughs are necessarily dry, and tend to be crumbly until rested or laminated.

I'm no pastry chef but the practice with really dry pastry doughs is usually to wrap it air-tight and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to allow the flour to hydrate and let the shortening re-solidify. A good rest in the fridge will make it easier to work, and you won't have as much trouble bringing it together.

If it were me I'd knead it in the bowl, then wrap it in plastic, then roll it out between two sheets of the same plastic anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour later.

But, my experience comes from experimentally laminating low hydration biscuits.

No, it isn't you. While I like Rose Beranbaum's works and own the Pie & Pastry Bible, I find the kneading of pastry dough in a zip lock bag to be ridiculous. It's been a long time since I made the cream cheese pastry, so I can't recall exactly how sticky it is. I know that there is a food processor method for that dough, so I would recommend using that. If you don't have a food processor, just make sure the butter and cheese are very cold and cut into small pieces before adding to the flour. Use a pastry cutter to cut them into the flour. Add the liquid and mix briefly with a fork. I would then pour the mixture onto a well floured surface and with the heel of your hand, lightly smear the mixture. Gather with a bench scraper, and quickly work it into a ball. Keep your hands well floured. An alternate method I use for very wet doughs like biscuits is to dump the mixture onto a well floured Silpat. I sprinkle some flour on top of the mixture and then use the Silpat the fold it over itself a few time until it comes together - maybe three or four times. If you don't have a Silpay, try using some wax paper or plastic wrap. If the mixture is too dry, sprinkle a little more water over it. You just have to adjust as you go. Practice makes perfect.