Pastry Crust

Pastry crust isn't exactly the same thing as pie crust. The addition of an egg makes it sturdier, so you can remove the tart from its pan and serve it free-standing. It also means you can make this in the food processor or stand mixer and not worry about over-mixing.

This recipe makes enough for one 11" tart shell. Whenever you place pastry dough in a tart pan, make it a little taller than the actual pan, and make sure it is well-pressed into all the fluted crevices. It will shrink. I recommend rolling it out, letting the dough sit on the board for a couple of minutes, and then transferring it to the pan. (See Pie Crust for transfer methods.)

1/2 C chilled butter, cut into 1 Tb pieces

1/4 C shortening

1 egg

2 Tb ice water

dash of salt

1-3/4 C flour, plus more for rolling

1. Place butter, shortening, egg, water, and salt in food processor or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Process/beat until chopped but not smooth.

2. Add flour and process/beat until crumbly and pebbly but not until it gathers into a ball.

3. Turn out onto surface and knead gently until mixture forms a disc. It's OK if it is still a little dry and crumbly. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least one hour, to let the moisture take effect. You can also freeze it at this point for up to a month.

4. Let dough come up close to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Roll out on floured surface into a circle about 1/8" thick. Transfer to tart pan (the fluted ones with removable bottoms). Once molded into pan, chill in fridge for about 1 hour.

5. If baking unfilled, preheat oven to 400º. Cover bottom of shell with foil or parchment paper and spread beans or a similar, ovenproof, light weight across bottom. Bake for about 12 minutes, until bottom is set and you no longer risk it puffing. Remove beans and foil and bake until lightly browned, another 12 minutes.

6. If baking filled, follow tart recipe. (Some tart recipes ask you to use a pre-baked crust, then bake it again.)

Difficulty rating  :)