Shortcrust Pastry
You know that delicious dough that melts in your mouth? You know that savory pie crust, chicken pie, strawberry pie, lemon pie?
Well, this is the recipe I’m going to share with you today, and get ready: it’s so easy you’ll ask yourself, “Why have I never made this before?”
How to Make Shortcrust Pastry / Paté Brisée
- Yield: One 25 cm (10 inch) pie or two quiches
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Baking time:
– 40 minutes at 150ºC for more liquid fillings (quiches).
– 25 minutes at 180ºC for creamy fillings.
– 15 minutes at 180ºC without filling
Ingredients:
- 1 medium egg
- 500 g (about 2 cups) of flour
- 250 g (about 1 cup) of salted margarine
- 1 ice cube
Preparation Method:
- In a deep bowl, place the flour and make a well in the center with your hand, then add the egg, flour, and the ice cube. Mix with your hands until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers.
Important: If the dough is too dry, add a bit more margarine and mix well until it no longer sticks to your hands and looks slightly shiny.
- If it becomes too soft and sticky, add flour until it no longer sticks to your hands and remains slightly shiny.
- At the end of the process, you can discard what remains of the ice cube.
- To roll out the dough, you can use a plastic sheet. If you don’t have one, you can use those thin produce bags from the grocery store.
I don’t recommend using plastic wrap because it’s too flimsy and makes it hard to roll out.
- Now divide the dough into two balls.
- Place one plastic sheet beneath the dough, then another sheet on top of the dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin until it reaches the size of the pan you’ll be using.
- Then put the dough in the pan and use it for whatever you wish. It’ll look like this:
Golden Tips – Shortcrust Pastry – Paté Brisée
- For pies, don’t forget to brush an egg yolk on top to brown it.
- For quiches, bake in a water bath. This helps prevent burning the crust before the filling is fully cooked.
- When forming bases such as for lemon mousse pie or strawberry pie, after placing the dough in the pan, use a fork to prick the bottom so it doesn’t warp or puff up.
- Another tip to achieve the dough’s point faster is to use the egg and flour at room temperature and chilled margarine.
- Don’t forget to use the ice cube; that’s the big secret of this dough.
Paté Brisée
Paté Brisée, this delicious French dough, commonly called “shortcrust pastry” in English (and “massa podre” in Portuguese), was born from a wonderful mistake, when a French baker tried to innovate by making a dough with only flour and butter. Things didn’t go as planned—the dough didn’t hold together the way he expected. So, not wanting to waste everything, he decided to press the dough into a cake pan and bake it to see what would happen. And guess what? If it hadn’t been for his curiosity (or maybe his stinginess), we wouldn’t have this marvel.
Here in Brazil – “Massa Podre”
In Brazil, this dough is called “massa podre” (literally “rotten dough”). Little is known about the origin of this rather unfair name. Some say it’s because the dough is crumbly. Others believe it’s because, in the past, it was made on a large scale and could last longer without refrigeration than regular doughs, so bakers would say “grab the dough that must be rotten” (even though it wasn’t).
Anyway, it doesn’t really matter why it has this name. All I know is that there’s nothing rotten about it, and with this recipe I’m giving you, you can’t go wrong.
With love,
Nate.
READ ALSO:
- Learn How to Make Pomodoro Sauce: Authentic
- Learn How to Make a Delicious Stuffed Polpetone
- Stuffed Flank Steak – In the Oven or on the Grill
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I hope you enjoyed this Paté Brisée recipe.
With love,