Pâte brisée salée / crust for savory tarts

Crunchy yet crumbles as you bite in. Among a number of pie/tart crust variations, this slightly salty crust is my favorite for quiches.

<Ingredients>

(for 11"/28 cm shallow tart pan)

200 g all-purpose or pastry flour
100 g unsalted butter
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs (1 egg for dough, 1 egg for egg wash)
1 tbsp water
Flour (to dust pastry board and dough; not in photo)


<Directions>
1.
Cut butter into small cubes, and freeze until ready to use.


2a. (If using a food processor)

Sift flour into food processor bowl, add sugar and salt, and pulse a couple of times to blend well.

Put butter cubes, and process until you have a fine, powdery mixture.
Transfer to a large bowl. 

2b. (If using a pie blender or pastry scraper)

Add sugar and salt to flour, mix well, and sift into a large bowl.

Put butter cubes, and cut them in until a fine, powdery mixture. 

3.

Make a well in the center, and put egg and water.

With a fork or your fingers, quickly incorporate egg, water and flour-butter mixture from the inner edge.  

When roughly mixed, switch to a pastry scraper, and continue blending in a cutting motion.

When mixture becomes moist and crumbly overall, squeeze with fingers to form doughy mixture. 

Knead a few times, and make a  flat ball.

Wrap in plastic film, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

4.

Dust flour on pastry board, and roll dough 3mm thick.

Dough will be stiff, so first press it down crisscross several times with rolling pin to make it more manageable for rolling.

Dust dough surface as necessary if it sticks while rolling.

5.

Hold mold over rolled dough to ensure dough will cover mold.

Roll dough around rolling pin, and unroll into mold.

As dough will shrink when baked, gently push down dough (loosely fit dough while creating some slack) along the vertical edge of mold.

6.

Roll rolling pin over the top to cut off excess dough.

Smooth out loosened dough along the edge, making sure dough is 2-3mm higher than mold.    

7.

Prick the bottom with a fork, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. 

8.
Preheat oven to 180 C/370-375 F.


9.

Line with parchment paper, place baking beans, and bake for 25 minutes.

10.

Remove from oven, and remove parchment paper and baking stones. 

Bake for 7-8 minutes. 

11.

Meanwhile, beat egg for egg wash, and set aside.

12.

Remove from oven, and brush egg.

Bake for another 5 minutes.

13.

Let cool completely on rack.

<Notes>

• Make sure your butter is very hard. This is especially important in warm weather or in a hot kitchen. Soft butter makes the crust heavy and not crumbly.
• A food processor is convenient and makes the task so easy. However, the crust tastes much better and more airy when made with a pie blender, dough scraper or fingers.
• You can finish the entire dough-making process with the food processor by adding a beaten egg and water to the powdery butter-flour mixture. Transferring the butter-flour mixture into a large bowl is just my preference.
• Dough is easiest to roll out after one hour of refrigeration. It will become quite hard if left in the fridge more than a few hours. If this happens, leave the wrapped dough for some time on the counter, and then roll out. 
• If the egg's consistency is too thick to brush, add a small amount of water (1 tbsp max). I do not add water, as I use the leftover egg (approx. 1/2 egg) for the quiche's custard.
• Beans or rice can substitute for baking beans.
• Dough can be kept in the fridge for 2 days and in the freezer for 3-4 weeks. However, because of the water content, using it sooner is better. Baked crusts can be frozen, too.
• For a sweet, dessert tart crust (pâte brisée sucrée), use 1 tbsp sugar instead of 1 tsp sugar.

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