Skip to main content

Martha's Perfect Pâte Brisée

I have been making this pie crust for over a decade and it has never failed me.  The dough comes together quickly if you use a food processor, but it can also be made by hand using a pastry cutter.  If you use a pastry cutter, it will take you a bit more time.  This is known as Martha's Perfect Pâte Brisée  and after making it you'll understand why.  It's important to have all of your ingredients well chilled.



The butter, flour, salt, sugar & water are carefully measured.  You must have these ingredients icy cold in order to make a good pie crust.

Quickly pulse your flour mixture in the food processor.


Add your chilled butter.  You want to cut up your butter in order to disperse small bits throughout the dough instead of big chunks.  This will make a flaky crust.


Pulse this a few times until you break up the butter.  Don't overwork it.


Now add your ice water slowly and pulse as you go.  You will slowly see the texture of the dough change.


Pick up some dough and squeeze it.  If it clumps like this you are done.  The whole process should take no more than 30 seconds.


Divide your dough in half.  Since I like exact measurements, I weigh my dough on a scale.


Gather up the pie crusts with plastic wrap and shape them into flat disks.


Pâte brisée  must be chilled at least one hour (more is better) before proceeding with a recipe.  It can sit in the refrigerator for up to one day.  It can also be frozen in a resealable bag (remove all air) for up to a month.  Thaw frozen pâte brisée in the refrigerator overnight in its plastic wrap. 




Every baker should know how to make a good pie crust from scratch, because it isn't hard at all.  There are many recipes for pie crusts out there and most of them include vegetable shortening.  Bakers add this in order to produce flakiness, but an all butter crust can still be flaky and tender if made properly and the taste will be incomparable.  I love making it not only for single or double crust pies, but for tarts, tartlets & quiches as well.  At my home, pies are made year round with what's in season.  Now that we're heading into summer, it's time to hit the farmstands and choose what's delectable.  I really hope you attempt a pie or two soon using this pâte brisée .  Enjoy!

Comments

  1. I've seen Martha vary the amounts of salt and sugar. Do you ever do this? Why and how do you make this decision?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah. Well that can easily be determined by what you're going to bake. If the filling is going to be a sweet one (like the pie above) it's a good idea to balance the sugar & salt. You can reduce the amount of salt by 1/2 a teaspoon if you want, but don't omit it. If the pie will be a savory one (say quiche), you can reduce the amount of sugar in your pate brisee recipe. I hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank You for Posting!

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Salt Cellars

There was a time when salt cellars played an important role on the dining table for the host or hostess.  As a result of it being such an expensive commodity several hundred years ago, salt was seen as a luxury and it was the well to do that made salt cellars quite fashionable & a status symbol for the home.  A single salt cellar usually sat at the head of the table and was passed around throughout the meal.  The closer one sat to the salt cellar, the more important one was deemed by the head of the household.  Smaller cellars that were more accessible and with an open top became a part of Victorian table settings.  Fast forward to the 20th century when salt was no longer a luxury and when anti caking agents were added to make salt free-flowing, and one begins to see salt cellars fall out of fashion.  Luckily for the collector and for those of us who like to set a table with Good Things , this can prove to be a boon. Salt cellars for the table come in silver, porcelain, cut glass

Collecting Jadeite

With its origins dating back to the 1930s, jadeite glassware began its mass production through the McKee Glass Co. in Pennsylvania. Their introduction of the Skokie green & Jade kitchenware lines ushered in our fascination with this jade color.  Glassmakers catered jadeite to the American public as an inexpensive alternative to earthenware soon after the Depression, both for the home and for its use in restaurants.  The Jeanette Glass Company and Anchor Hocking introduced their own patterns and styles, which for many collectors, produced some of the most sought after pieces.  Companies marketed this beautiful glass under the monikers of jadite , jadeite , jade glass , jad-ite , jade-ite , so however you want to spell it, let it draw you in for a closer look.  If you want a thorough history of the origins of jadeite, collectors’ pricing, patterns & shapes (don’t forget the reproductions in 2000), I highly suggest picking up the book by Joe Keller & David Ross called, Jadei

How to Paint a Chair

If you have ever felt the need to spruce up a set of chairs or give them a new look, why not try a little bit of paint?  Our tastes in decor and color will probably alter throughout our lives, and at some point, we may find ourselves wanting to change the look of our furniture without having to spend a lot of money.  That's where a few handy tips, some tools from the hardware store, and good-quality paint come in handy.   I know I'm not alone in paying visits to local antique shops, antique fairs and flea markets, and falling in love with pieces of furniture that would be perfect if they were just a different color.  You don't have to walk away from a good purchase simply because it's the wrong color.   My dear friend, Jeffrey, is forever enhancing his home with collectibles from flea markets and tag sales.  However, certain items aren't always up to Jeffrey's tastes when he brings them home.  He is the type of person who won't hesitate to chang