Pâte Brisée (Short Crust Pastry)

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies

Pate Brisee (pronounced paht bree-Zay) is a standard all butter pastry dough used for making pies, quiches and tarts. 

This recipe makes 1 pate brisee crust, enough for one tart. If you are making a pie with a bottom and top crust, double this recipe.

Ingredients

250 g plain flour (1 3/4 cup)
150 g butter cut into pieces
1 tsp fine salt 

pinch of caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp cold milk

Method

Mound flour on your work surface and make a well in the center.

Place butter, sugar, salt and egg in center of well and mix together using your fingers.

Slowly incorporate flour into butter mixture, using your fingers until the dough resembles breadcrumbs.

Slowly add the milk and mix until the dough begins to come together.

Using the palm of your hand, knead the dough until smooth 4 to 5 times.

Roll the dough into a ball,wrap with cling film and refrigerate until ready to use.

When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and place on a clean, smooth, lightly floured surface. 

Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes to take just enough of a chill off of it so that it becomes easier to roll out. 

Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 12 inch circle, to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch thick. 

As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. 

Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.

To prebake the tart or pie shell:
With the tines of a fork, prick the bottom of the dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.
Line the unbaked pastry shell with a butter paper or aluminum foil.
Fill tart or pie pan, with beans making sure they are evenly distributed over the entire surface.
Bake the crust for 20-25 minutes or until the crust starts to dry and is lightly browned.
Remove the beans and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Cool the crust on a wire rack.
Use the shell when a recipe calls for a pre-baked shell.

Do not prick the bottom of a crust that you plan to fill with a hot filling, such as apple or pumpkin filling or a custard. Liquid can easily seep through the small holes, which causes a soggy crust.