Different types of crust for baking

1. Pâte Brisée – Pie Crust

If you made a pie from scratch, this is probably the dough you prepared. Tender, flaky, and of course buttery. Very common to use and very popular as well because it can be used for both sweet and savory fillings. If you made an apple pie, then you’ve made this dough with a sweet filling. And if you’ve made a meat pie, again, you’ve made this dough with a savory filling. So you see, it’s one you definitely want to master.

Pâte Brisée is the basic dough of them all. This is probably the one recipe you can make any time because it uses everyday ingredients we always have on hand. With only four main ingredients: butter, flour, salt, cold water, and a simple method, this is the easiest of all pastry doughs. 

The process is simple – we use cold butter that’s cut into the flour into small pieces. The uneven texture resulting from the butter distribution results in a dough that’s flaky and crumbly.

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Pie Crust Recipe

Making a homemade pie crust is easy peasy. This is my no-fail all-butter Pâte brisée recipe that always turns out flaky. Today, I show you how to make this great pie crust perfectly every single time.

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When do you use a pie crust – Pâte Brisée?

This is the default crust that goes for savory pies such as meat pies and quiches, as well as some sweet treats like pecan pie, apple pie, peach pie, galettes, and hand pies. If you are not sure which to use, this would often be the safe option.

2. Pâte Sucrée – sweet shortcrust pastry

This is the same as the basic pie crust but sweeter. Sucrée means sweet.

It also uses the same ingredients and method, with the addition of a little sugar. Often, egg yolk is used as the binding agent instead of water. As a result, the crust is more crumbly.

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Sweet Shortcrust Pastry aka Pate Sucree

A Pate Sucree, aka shortcrust pastry, is the perfect base for many desserts, such as tarts, pies, and desserts. It's a buttery, sweet pastry with a biscuit-like crumb that melts in your mouth. And, it is surprisingly easy to make it yourself.

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When do you use sweet shortcrust?

Shortcrust is often used for sweet tarts with sweet fillings. The filling, like this pumpkin tart, can be added to a fully baked crust or a partially baked crust, such as this nectarine frangipani tart.

3. Pâte sablée – Rich shortcrust

This is the richest of the three crusts. It has a higher amount of sugar, which makes it perfect for desserts such as fruit tarts. 

If you’ve ever eaten a fruit tart, it’s probably made with a Pâte sablée. Sometimes, the crust is fully baked, and then the filling is added later, such as a pastry cream with fruits. But, often, this crust is also partially baked before adding the filling and baking it further with a filling such as a frangipani.

Texture – This is a sweetened, rich, buttery dough that’s crisp, unlike Pate Sucree, which is still quite flaky and crumbly. This has a very cookie-like texture, very similar to a shortbread that will shatter into small crumbles if pricked with a fork.

It’s definitely a very delicate crust. But it’s surprisingly easy to master because the dough is quite forgiving. You can easily patch pieces together, and it will still be perfect.

The method – Unlike the other two crusts, where you use chilled butter and high-percentage fat/lard cut into the flour to create a chewy, flaky texture. Here, we use room temperature butter and creaming. The butter and sugar are creamed, so it’s equally distributed throughout the flour. This method prevents the formation of gluten because each grain of flour is coated with butter. This results in a tender, rich, buttery crust. I have shown you three methods to work with this crust.

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Rich Shortcrust Pastry (Pate Sablee)

A rich shortcrust pastry or Pâte Sabée, as they say in French, is a buttery shortbread-like crust, a perfect base for making sweet tarts such as fruit tarts. Today, I will show you three methods to roll this pastry from scratch.

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When do I use Pâte sablée?

There are many great recipes that use the Pâte sabléee as a base.

• A Bakewell tart is very common and uses this rich shortcrust pastry
• Fruit tarts filled with pastry cream and topped with your favorite fruits – Berries, strawberries, blueberries.
• Lemon curd tart is a simple and easy tart you can make in minutes if you have a Pâte sabléee on hand. Just use a jar of lemon curd, or better yet, make my no-fail recipe for lemon curd.
• Try chocolate ganache tart – White chocolate ganache with raspberries is very popular, and so is a dark chocolate ganache.

Tips for Making the Perfect Pate Brisee & Pate Sucree

The secret to making a perfect pie crust is not only in the recipe but in the method of making it.

1. Fat – You will see a big difference in the quality of your crust based on the fat you use. If you ask my mom, it can’t be all butter. It had to be mostly full-fat GHEE (Shortening) and some butter for flavor. The higher the percentage of fat, the better the crust. My grandmother would use 100% lard (animal fat). For her, making a pie crust with butter is a No-No!  And yet, she lived healthily until 89. I, on the other hand, never use lard to make my pie crust. I use butter or sometimes half butter and half vegetable shortening. I’d be lucky if I live to her age!
2. The amount of water in your pie dough plays a very important role in the final texture. Too much water will make your crust very tough. And too little will make it very crumbly. Crumbly is good, and yet you still want to be able to hold a slice of pie.
3. Avoid the fat/butter from melting into your flour. I usually place my bowl with the flour and chilled butter into the fridge for at least half an hour before I start to work it into the dough. Those of you living in a hot and humid climate can avoid touching the dough too much with your hands by rolling the pastry between two sheets of parchment paper.
4. Also, use chilled iced water to maintain the temperature of the dough.
5. Cool the pie crust for at least half an hour before you bake. This will prevent the sides from shrinking.
6. Let the pre-baked crust cool for 15 minutes before you add in the filling. This will prevent the liquid from being absorbed into the crust. And, if your filling is very liquid, brush the pastry with egg white before adding the filling. This creates a seal between the filling and crust. 

Tips for making the perfect Pâte sablée

• Making pastry dough should be planned, not a last-minute chore. Planning means leaving enough time to chill the dough between steps.
• Always chill the dough before you roll, so you don’t melt the butter too much. You want to keep that tender shortbread consistency.
• If the dough is stiff when rolling, let it rest for five minutes, then roll again. This will prevent breaking.
• When rolling, use just enough flour so it’s easier to handle, but not loaded with flour.
• Dust any excess flour from the crust when possible.
• If you live in a hot and humid place, roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and let the rolled sheet of pastry chill between steps to make handling easier.
• This is a forgiving dough, so if it tears, don’t worry, just patch it up together and continue.
• Roll the dough to 1/8 thickness – too thick will make the baked crust look bulky, but too thin will break easily.
• Always chill the pate sablee for at least 30 minutes before you bake it.
• Use pie weights to bake the crust or dock the crust with the tines of a fork. Pie weight is the most effective way to blind bake. But I often use the fork method too.
• A partially baked crust will still be pale in color with slight browning on the edges.
• A fully baked Pate Sablee should be lightly brown in the center, meaning it’s cooked right through.
• For fully baked Pate Sablee – If the pastry edges are browning before the center is light gold, tent the edges with foil or a pie shield after you have removed the weights.

4 – Double pie crust

A double pie crust refers to a pie crust that consists of both a bottom crust and a top crust. It is used when making pies that have a filling that needs to be enclosed between two layers of crust. Double pie crusts are commonly used for fruit pies, such as apple pie, cherry pie, or pumpkin pie.

The bottom crust is typically rolled out and placed in the pie dish or pan to create the base. The filling, whether it’s fruit, custard, or other ingredients, is then added on top of the bottom crust. The top crust is rolled out separately and placed over the filling, sealing the edges with the bottom crust. It is often adorned with decorative slits or shapes to allow steam to escape during baking.

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Double Pie Crust Recipe

This is your basic unsweetened all-butter pie crust recipe or Pâte Brisée dough that's rich, buttery, flaky, and tender. Today, we make a double pie crust from scratch for an apple pie.

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When do you use a double pie crust?

1. The double crust completely encloses the filling, keeping it contained and preventing it from overflowing or drying out during baking.
2. The top crust adds another layer of flavor and texture to the pie. It can provide a contrast to the filling and offer a satisfying, flaky element.
3. The double crust helps to retain moisture within the pie, which can be particularly beneficial for fruit pies, as it prevents the filling from becoming overly dry.
4. A double-crusted pie often has an appealing and traditional look, with its complete covering and decorative top crust.

How to prevent your pastry crust from shrinking?

Nothing is worse than finding your tart has shrunk after baking. Here are a few tips that might help.

1. Do not overwork the dough. Remember, flour has gluten, and if you overwork the dough, you will activate the gluten. You cannot entirely omit the formation of gluten, but you can control it by handling it carefully so it does not contract in the heat of the oven.
2. Never add too much water to the dough. Keep it flaky by adding only enough water to bring it together. This is harder in the beginning, but gather the dough lightly and use a cling/plastic wrap to help form a disc.
3. Let the dough rest before rolling and before baking. This will help the dough relax, so it is easier to roll and helps the butter chill. As a result, it doesn’t melt as quickly when baking.
4. Bake at a higher temperature. This will melt the butter while cooking the dough instantly.

What pan do you use for pies, tarts, and quiches?

You can make a tart in a tart pan. You can make pies and quiche in a pie pan or tart pan with a removable bottom. Most of my pies are made in tart pans. The advantage of the tart pan with a removable bottom is that you can take it to friends and family.

And yet, when I make a quiche or pie at home, I like to use my stoneware pie pan. The advantage of stoneware is that it gives a lovely crisp crust that does not get soggy as it cools down. And, the quiche or pie also stays warm longer.

For example, here you see two pecan pies. I made the classic pecan pie in a pie pan for the home. I made my favorite pecan pie in a tart pan so I could take it with me for dinner over at my family’s.

5. Low-fat pie crust

There are several disadvantages to making a low-fat pie crust:

1. Texture: A low-fat pie crust may have a slightly different texture compared to a traditional pie crust. The reduced fat content can result in a crust that is less flaky and more dense.
2. Flavor: Fat contributes to the flavor of a pie crust, so reducing the fat content can affect the overall taste. A low-fat crust may be less rich and buttery.
3. Binding: Fat helps to bind the ingredients together and create a cohesive dough. With less fat, the dough may be slightly more challenging to work with and may not hold together as well.
4. Browning: Fat aids in browning, so a low-fat crust may not achieve the same golden color as a traditional crust.

Personally, I prefer to make a crustless tart or pie, such as my crustless Swiss chard quiche and crustless kale artichoke ricotta quiche. However, if you still need to make a low-fat pie crust for any reason, here’s a recipe you may like to use.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2-4 tablespoons ice water

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
2. Add the cold butter to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add the Greek yogurt to the bowl and mix until the dough starts to come together.
4. Gradually add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, and mix until the dough forms a ball. Be careful not to add too much water, as the dough should be slightly crumbly but hold together when pressed.
5. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.