Freeform Tart Dough
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
25 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
Yield
Makes enough for one 9-inch tart
Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams), plus additional for work surface½ teaspoon table salt 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¼ sticks), cold, cut into ½-inch cubes3 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand and butter pieces are about size of small peas, about 10 pulses. Continue to pulse, adding ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough begins to form small curds that hold together when pinched with fingers, about 10 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and gather into rectangular-shaped pile. Starting at farthest end, use heel of hand to smear small amount of dough against counter. Continue to smear dough until all crumbs have been worked. Gather smeared crumbs together in another rectangular-shaped pile and repeat process.
- Form dough into 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
Time
25 minutes, plus 1 hour chillingYield
Makes enough for one 9-inch tartIngredients
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams), plus additional for work surface
½ teaspoon table salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¼ sticks), cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams), plus additional for work surface
½ teaspoon table salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¼ sticks), cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams), plus additional for work surface
½ teaspoon table salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¼ sticks), cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We developed our free-form tart recipe as a quick alternative to pie. For the flakiest pastry, we turned to a French technique in pastry making called fraisage, in which the dough is smeared with the heel of your hand, spreading the butter pieces into long, thin streaks between skeletal layers of flour and water. The dough is then lifted up and back over the fruit (the center of the tart remains exposed) and loosely pleated to allow for shrinkage. The bright summer fruit needed only the simple addition of sugar, 3 to 5 tablespoons depending on the type of fruit.
Instructions
- Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand and butter pieces are about size of small peas, about 10 pulses. Continue to pulse, adding ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough begins to form small curds that hold together when pinched with fingers, about 10 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and gather into rectangular-shaped pile. Starting at farthest end, use heel of hand to smear small amount of dough against counter. Continue to smear dough until all crumbs have been worked. Gather smeared crumbs together in another rectangular-shaped pile and repeat process.
- Form dough into 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
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