French Tart Pastry Food

PâTE SUCRéE - FRENCH SWEET TART CRUST (PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• Mix Dy Ingredients: Whisk together flour, icing sugar, salt and almond meal in a bowl.
• Add butter: Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs. (Note 4).
• Add egg: Mix with a rubber spatula until it becomes too hard to stir anymore, then use your hands to bring it together into a dough.
• Bring dough together: Turn dough out onto a work surface, then knead to bring together into a smooth ball. Flatten into a 2cm / 0.8" thick disc. Wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Unwrap chilled dough. Place on a lightly floured work surface.
• Roll out into a 32cm / 13" round (3mm / 1/8" thick).
• Line tart tin: Roll pastry lightly on to a rolling pin (ie. so it wraps around itself). Then unroll it gently over the tart tin.
• Fit pastry: Adjust the pastry to fit into the tart tin, fitting into the corner, taking care not to stretch it (causes shrinkage during bake).
• Trim excess dough: Roll the rolling pin over tart tin to trim excess dough. Pictured tart tin is 24 x 3 cm / 9.5 x 1.2" - you can use any up to this size.
• Prick the base of the pastry 30 times with a fork. Not all the way through - just make a light prick on the surface.
• Chill pastry in tart tin for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan).
• Baking beads: Cover pastry with 2 sheets of baking paper (parchment paper), in a "X" arrangement. Fill with baking beads (or 2 cups dry raw rice or beans).
• Baking times for a Par Baked Tart to be used for tarts that are baked for > 30 minutes once the filling is added into the cooked tart shell.
• Bake 15 minutes the remove from oven. Use excess paper to remove baking beads.
• Bake uncovered 5 minutes: Return tart crust to oven for 5 minutes. Pastry should be light golden, crispy on surface, but slighty undercooked inside (will finish cooking once filled and baked again).
• Use these baking times if the tart shell is to be used for raw fillings (ie tart not baked once crust is filled) OR fillings that are baked for < 25 minutes.
• Bake 15 minutes the remove from oven. Use excess paper to remove baking beads.
• Bake uncovered 10 minutes: This will fully cook the pastry through and give it nice colour which we need as the pastry won't cook through in less than 25 minutes once filled.
• Cool: Remove then cool in tart tin before filling (this ensures crust stays crispy once filled), then baking again if filling needs to be cooked (like this Pistachio Frangipane Pear Tart).
• Make ahead up to 3 days, suitable for baking once filled.

FRENCH TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Fit bowl of food processor with the metal blade; add in the flour, sugar, salt, and butter.
• Process on/off for 10 seconds (ten 1 second pulses) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add the egg and water to a small bowl; beat to mix.
• Through the feed tube, add the egg/water mixture and continue to process briefly (about 20 seconds) only until the mixture barely (but not completely) holds together.
• Turn mixture out onto a large unfloured board or smooth work surface; knead briefly (only a few seconds) until the mixture is smooth and holds together; press the mixture together to form a ball.
• Smooth the sides and flour it lightly.
• *Unless the kitchen is terribly hot, or unless you have handled the mixture too much (enough to melt the butter), it is not necessary to refrigerate this before using; if you must, refrigerate it for only about an hour or less; if it is refrigerated too long it will crack when you roll it out.
• Roll out and fit into tart pan.

PASTRY FOR A FRENCH TART

Steps:

• This is much more easily done in a food processor than by hand, but either method is acceptable. If the processor is used, put the flour into the container of the processor. Cut in the butter and add the sugar.
• Start processing while adding the water a little at a time. Add only enough water so that the dough can be held together and shaped into a ball.
• Or put the flour into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces on top and sprinkle with sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour. Remove the pastry cutter. Using the hands, start working the mixture while adding the water a teaspoon or so at a time. Add only enough water while working the dough until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Shape the dough into a ball.
• Flatten the dough into a round patty about one and a half inches thick. Wrap closely in foil or wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

FRENCH APPLE TART

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
• Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

FRENCH ONION TART WITH CHEESY THYME PASTRY

Steps:

• Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor with the 100g butter. Blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add 50g of the cheese, 1 tbsp of the thyme leaves, some freshly ground black pepper and 1 tsp salt. Blitz again briefly to combine. Add 2-3 tbsp cold water, and pulse again until it comes together into a dough. If you don't have a food processor, do this in a bowl - rub the flour into the butter first, then stir in the remaining ingredients with a knife. Wrap and chill for at least 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the 25g butter and the olive oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat, and cook the onions with a pinch of salt for 40-50 mins, stirring often, until sticky, golden and very soft when pressed with the back of a spoon. If they start to catch, reduce the heat further and add a splash of water. Be patient, as they will take a while to caramelise, but keep your eye on the pan so they don't burn.
• Stir in the vinegar, sugar and the anchovies. Keep stirring until the vinegar has evaporated, and the anchovies have dissolved into the onions. Remove from the heat.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface to a 3mm thickness. Use the pastry to line a 23cm tart tin (use the rolling pin to help you do this). Trim the edges so they're just overhanging the sides. Patch the pastry with the offcuts, if needed. Scrunch up a sheet of baking parchment, then open it out again to line the pastry, and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 mins, remove the parchment and beans, then bake for a further 5-8 mins, or until the pastry looks dry, without any raw spots.
• Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream, remaining thyme and the rest of the cheese together with a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Stir in the caramelised onions. Trim the sides of the pastry using a serrated knife to neaten the edges. Pour the filling into the pastry case and tap the tin gently on the work surface to release any bubbles.
• Bake the quiche for 25-30 mins on the middle shelf of the oven until lightly golden and set in the middle, with a slight wobble. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 15-20 mins, then slice. To make the salad, whisk the olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl, then toss in the remaining ingredients. Pile the salad on top of the quiche, or serve alongside. If you like, leave the quiche to cool completely, then chill before serving. Will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

FRENCH TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter, Rub into the flour until mixtureresembles fine bread crumbs.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons ice water. Add to the flour mixture. With a fork, toss gently to mix and moisten.
• Press the dough into a rough ball. If it is too dry, add 1 tablespoon water. Turn onto the work surface or a pastry board.
• With the heel of your hand, push small portions of dough away from you, smearing them on the surface.
• Continue moxing the dough in this way until it feels pliable and can be peeled off the surface easily.
• Press the dough into a smooth ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.