Flaky Pie Dough For Individual Tartes Tatin Food

PERFECTLY FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and sugar until well combined. Using clean hands, add butter and toss until just coated. Rub butter between thumb and forefingers to incorporate into flour mixture until butter is in lima bean-sized pieces and comes together in quarter-sized clumps when squeezed in palm, about 2 minutes. Add shortening, toss until just coated in flour, then rub into flour mixture until mixture forms pea-size pieces (some big chunks should remain) and comes together in fist-sized clumps when squeezed, about 1 minute. Drizzle in half ice water and rake through mixture with fingers until just moistened. Drizzle in remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time and comb through mixture with fingers to moisten. It will go from being a shaggy mess to coming together. Dough is moist enough when it is moistened through but is not wet when pressed. (Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.)
• While rotating the bowl with 1 hand, push dough between other palm and side of bowl to gather into a ball. Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a flat disk, then close in wrap. Place in coldest part of refrigerator (usually back bottom shelf) at least 30 minutes before rolling out and forming into a crust.

FLAKY PIE DOUGH FOR INDIVIDUAL TARTES TATIN

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, and sugar in bowl of a food processor. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
• With machine running, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube until dough holds together, taking no longer than 30 seconds. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Press dough into a disk; wrap. Chill at least 1 hour.

FLAKY PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• To mix the dough by hand, combine flour, salt and baking powder in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir well to mix. Cut butter into 1tablespoon pieces and add to dry ingredients. Toss once or twice to coat pieces of butter. Then using your hands or a pastry blender, break the butter into tiny pieces and pinch and squeeze it into the dry ingredients. Keep the mixture uniform by occasionally reaching down to the bottom of the bowl and mixing all the ingredients evenly together. Continue rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarseground cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visible.
• Sprinkle the minimum amount of water over the butter and flour mixture and stir gently with a fork the dough should begin holding together. If the mixture still appears dry and crumbly, add the remaining water, 1 teaspoon at a time for the smaller quantity of dough, a tablespoon at a time for the larger quantity, until the dough holds together easily.
• To mix the dough in the food processor, combine flour, salt and baking powder in work bowl fitted with metal blade. Pulse 3 times at 1second intervals to mix. Cut butter into 1 tablespoon pieces and add to work bowl. Process, pulsing repeatedly at 1second intervals, until the mixture is fine and powdery, resembles a coarseground cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visible about 15 pulses in all.
• Scatter the minimum amount of water on the butter and flour mixture and pulse 5 or 6 times the dough should begin holding together. If the mixture still appears dry and crumbly, add the remaining water, 1 teaspoon at a time for the smaller quantity of dough,one tablespoon at a time for the larger quantity, until the dough holds together easily.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a disk (two equal disks for the larger amount of dough). Sandwich the disk(s) of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap and press it into a 6inch circle. Refrigerate the dough until firm, or until you are ready to use it, at least 1 hour.

INDIVIDUAL TARTES TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Peel apple, halve lengthwise, and core. Using a 1-cup ramekin (3 1/4 inches across and 2 1/4 inches deep) as a guide, cut out 2 rounds from pastry sheet.
• In a 7-inch heavy skillet heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and stir in brown sugar and water. Add apple halves and cook, turning frequently, 3 minutes. In two 1-cup ramekins set on a baking sheet arrange apple halves, cored sides up, and top evenly with sauce.
• Top apples with pastry rounds, letting edges of pastry hang over sides of apples. Bake tarts in middle of oven for 20 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and golden brown, and cool on a rack 5 minutes. Working with 1 ramekin at a time, invert a plate over each ramekin and invert ramekin onto plate. Carefully lift off ramekins.
• Serve tarts with ice cream.

INDIVIDUAL DRIED-FRUIT TARTES TATIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Have ready six 4-inch fluted tartlet pans with nonremovable bottoms.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to slightly less than 1/8 inch thick. Cut out six 4 1/2-inch-round circles. Transfer the circles to prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic; transfer to refrigerator to chill.
• Place the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Place pan over medium-high heat, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook, uncovered, without stirring. As the water evaporates, the sugar will begin to caramelize. Once the sugar starts to brown, swirl the pan occasionally so the sugar caramelizes evenly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until caramel is light brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Working quickly, divide caramel among tart pans, covering the bottoms evenly. Set the tart pans aside.
• Arrange the fruit, cut sides up or down, on top of caramel in pans, covering bottoms.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon water. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Center the rounds over the fruit in the pans, laying the dough flat and not tucking it in. Using a knife, make a knife slit in each piece of dough. Brush rounds with egg wash. Transfer pans to refrigerator; chill 15 minutes.
• Arrange the tart pans on baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between. Bake until the crusts are golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack until pans are cool enough to handle.
• Using your fingers, gently unstick crusts from rims as needed. Turn out each tart onto a plate, tapping to loosen any fruit. Serve tarts warm or at room temperature.

FLAKY TART DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together salt and water. Keep very cold until ready to use.
• Place flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly until mixture forms large crumbs. Add the salt water mixture and continue pulsing until a dough has just formed but is not smooth.
• On a lightly floured work surface, evenly divide dough. Form each piece of dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

TARTE TATIN -- EASY VERSION

Steps:

• Mix sugar and melted butter and press evenly into greased 8" or 9" round cake pan.
• Put apples on their sides in rows decoratively around pan, packing closely together and filling small spaces with broken segments of apples.
• Sprinkle tops of apples lightly with cinnamon if desired.
• Bake uncovered at 425F about 1-1 ½ hours.
• If apples start to burn, they can be covered toward the end of the baking time.
• Meanwhile, unfold pastry sheet and cut to fit pan. Use another pan to trace shape if necessary.
• Poke fork holes into both sides of puff pastry sheet to allow air to escape while baking.
• Press pastry on top of baked apples, pushing edges down. Bake another 20 minutes.
• Cool partially, then invert to a platter. Serve warm.

FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor.
• Add shortening and butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Transfer mixture to bowl.
• Mix 6 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl; pour over flour mixture.
• Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry.
• Gather dough into 2 balls; flatten each into disk.
• Wrap each in plastic and chill 30 minutes.
• (Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Soften slightly at room temperature before using).
• Zelly Bell I'd say you have a way more modern oven than I do, thank goodness, and you should "tailor" this recipe to what what works for you and your oven, as I imagine most ovens are newer than mine, which I'm just used to mine now, and can even bake good cookies from scratch with it now. This recipe is simply a good easy pie crust easy enough for a beginner in even a not user-friendly oven.
• Please Do NOT be intimidated at making your own pie crust, it's not that much work and way worth it. It's more enjoyable when they compliment you to say, "I made it from scratch". Bottom line it's worth trying. If I can make a good pie crust you can too.