Tart Crust

This is a great tart crust recipe, adapted from my favorite cooking blog, Smitten Kitchen.

Servings: 1 tart crust

Fresh
9 Tbsp. butter, chilled, additional for greasing
1 egg

Pantry
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour, additional for kneading (around 2 Tbsp.)
1/2 confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl or food processor work bowl.

Cut in butter
Cut the butter into small pieces, approximately 1/4 Tbsp. each. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut with a pastry dough cutter or the food processor blade. Continue until the mixture resembles coarse sand. The largest pieces of butter should be the size of peas or smaller.

Make the dough
Add the egg and pulse or stir the mixture for five seconds at a time until the mixture turns to dough. Do not over mix. Watch the dough carefully, it will turn suddenly from a loose mixture to a ball of dough. Use a small amount of flour, approximately 1 Tbsp., to dust the counter-top and turn dough onto counter. Form the dough into a disc shape, kneading very sparingly, only as much as is necessary to form all of the ingredients into the disc.

Chill and roll dough
Place the disc of dough between two sheets of wax paper and refrigerate until cold, approximately 1 hour. Butter the inside of a 9-inch fluted tart pan. Once dough is chilled, turn onto a large piece of parchment paper lightly sprinkled with approximately 1/2 Tbsp. of flour. Sprinkle flour on the top of the dough sparingly. Roll the dough into a large circle on the parchment paper, at least 14-inch diameter. Turn the rolled dough over into the greased tart pan and peel off the parchment paper. Press the dough into the pan to fill out the flutes on the side. Fold the excess dough into the pan to thicken the sides of the crust. Pierce the crust with fork tines, making holes throughout the base and in the sides. Cover with foil and chill the tart pan and dough in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking.

Partially bake crust
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees-F. Butter one side of a piece of foil large enough to cover the tart. Place the butter side down on the tart and bake for 20 minutes to par-bake. Remove from oven and push tart down with spoon or other utensil if the dough has puffed up.

Serve
Follow with a tart dessert recipe, such as Lemon Tart.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan.

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