Shortcrust Pastry (Pate Brisée)
Pâte brisée is crisp, buttery, and just neutral enough to work with almost anything, from sweet tarts, savoury quiches, to tartlets and tourtes. It takes about ten minutes to make. The technique matters more than the recipe, and once you've got it, you've got it for life.
Ingredients
- 250 gr plain flour
- 125 gr unsalted butter cold, cut into small cubes
- 1 pinch salt
- 50 ml water add gradually
- 1 egg yolk ≈20 g
Equipment
Instructions
1. Sable the butter and flour
- Put the sifted flour and salt in a bowl or on your work surface, add the cold cubed butter, and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse, damp sand with no visible lumps of butter. Work quickly and use only your fingertips to keep the butter cold.
2. Add the egg yolk and water
- Make a well in the middle. Add the egg yolk (if using) and most of the cold water. Bring it together with your fingers until it forms a rough, shaggy dough. Add the last of the water only if it won't come together. Don't knead it, stop as soon as it comes together.
3. Fraise the dough
- Tip the dough onto a work surface. Push small amounts away from you with the heel of your hand, smearing them flat, then gather back together and repeat once. Stop as soon as the dough is smooth and holds together.
4. Rest the pastry
- Press the pastry into a flat disc, wrap in cling film, and chill for 1 hour.
5. Roll and use
- Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm thick. Line your tart ring(s), trim the edges, and prick the base with a fork.
6. Second chill
- Chill the lined tin for another 30 to 60 minutes before baking. This stops the sides slumping in the oven.
Notes
- Keep everything cold: Cold butter, cold water, cold hands. If the dough turns greasy, chill it before carrying on.
- Fingertips, not palms: Palms melt the butter. Light hands give you the sandy texture you want. Don't add all the water at once.
- Flours vary: Add most, bring it together, then add the last splash only if needed.
- Both rests matter: One hour after mixing, 30 to 60 minutes after lining. Skip either and the edges slump or the crust toughens.
- Make ahead: Keeps 3 days wrapped in the fridge, or a month frozen. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling.