Rolling In It

It's not all fun and games with school. In addition to spending my every waking moment studying and memorizing new recipes, I also have technical readings. You do need to know how things work in order to do this. Or at least have a vague idea.

One of these areas of expertise (in my case, limited) is pastry dough. Since I started, I have been making almost nothing but tarts. In order to make tarts, I need dough for a shell. At my school, we learn how to make three different types (all French tart doughs of course, it is the French Culinary Institute). They are pâte brisée, pâte sucrée, and pâte sablée.

To give you a quick rundown, pâte brisée is an all-purpose dough (can be sweet or savory), pâte sucrée is a sweet dough, and pâte sablée is along the lines of a shortbread. The sablée is the only dough that we haven't worked with yet, so I can't really say if I like it yet or not. Although I can say that I love shortbread.

Okay, so here are the two I have done:

Pâte Brisée
125 grams cake flour (1 cup)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
62 grams cold butter (1/4 cup)
32 mL water (2 Tbsp.)

Makes one 8-inch/9-inch tart

Place flour, salt, and sugar into the mixer bowl with the paddle attachment. Add the COLD butter that has been cut into 1/2" cubes. Turn the mixer on slow and mix until the butter pieces are about the size of dried lentils (approx. 1/8"). Add the cold water to the dough gradually, until it is soft and shaggy. Work the dough by hand to finish and make it homogenous. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate.

This dough is a bit dry. When they say shaggy, they mean it. Making my version in class, I didn't add enough water and ended up with some patches that were a bit dehydrated. It was a pain to roll out later. Even though the dough is meant to be drier, have extra water on hand in case you need to add just a bit more.

Pâte Sucrée

125 grams powdered sugar (1 1/4 cup)
250 grams butter (1 1/8 cup, but you could probably get away with just 1 cup)
3 eggs
500 grams cake flour (4 cups)
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Makes enough for three 8-inch/9-inch tarts

Cream the sugar and butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time (so the mixture doesn't separate), making sure the mixture is homogenous before adding more. Add the cake flour and baking powder all at once and mix just to combine. Wrap the dough and refrigerate until firm.

This dough is incredibly forgiving. Much easier to roll out quickly and it holds together better. This is because of the butter, which is always a good addition to anything. Plus the cake flour makes it taste like a mini cake. With cream. And fruit, or chocolate, or whatever else you put on it.

So, if you're making a sweet treat, sucrée may be the way to go. If in doubt or you want something more subtle, go with the brisée. Just have the aspirin ready for the minor headaches that may occur.