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La Belle Cuisine - More Pie & Tart Basics

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"To cook is to create. And to create well...
is an act of integrity, and faith."

Nancy Silverton:
Pastry Technique & Sweet Pastry

“Handling pastry isn’t hard, but it does take practice. It’s simply a matter
of touch, of knowing when the pastry is the right temperature and pliability
to be rolled out easily. If you give yourself the chance to work with pastry
often, you’ll soon be comfortable enough to manipulate it like a pro.”
~ Nancy Silverton

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La Belle Cuisine

Sweet Pastry
from 'Desserts'
by Nancy Silverton, 1986, Harper & Row

“An excellent tart pastry – it’s sweet, short, and stays crisp under
a filling. Lemon, orange or ginger flavoring will add another
dimension to the dough.”

Makes 1 1/2 pounds dough (enough for two 10-inch tart shells)

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use flour sparingly –
some of the dough will stick to the surface, but you can scrape it up and reincorporate it into the mass. Dip the heel of your hand in flour and
begin smearing small sections of the dough away from you.
When the dough has become all smeared out, gather it together and form
into two balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours before rolling out. Pastry should always chill after it has been made and again
after rolling out to allow the gluten in the flour to relax and ensure a
tender crust that will not shrink during baking.
To roll out pastry: The most important factor when rolling out pastry is
the temperature of the room you’re in – the cooler, the better. Try to
work with the dough before turning on the oven, which heats the kitchen.
You’ll need a large clear countertop, smooth and solid, giving you plenty
of room to work, preferably one that’s low enough to give your arms some leverage as you roll. (If the counter is too high, stand on a phone book or work on a tabletop to get the right angle.) A refrigerated slab of marble is ideal for rolling pastry because it retains cold. You can get a similar effect
by chilling any surface – cover it briefly with ice packs, boxes of frozen foods, and a baking sheet covered with ice.
In warm weather, take the pastry directly from the refrigerator, cut it into fourths or sixths, pound it with a rolling pin to soften, then work it briefly with your hands, without kneading it, into a smooth, pliable (but not sticky) ball. No matter what the weather, always use your fingertips to work the dough, because they’re cooler than your palms.
In cold weather, take chilled pastry out of the refrigerator and let it stand
at room temperature until it’s almost soft enough to roll out. Then beat it
for a moment or two with a rolling pin to soften.
Before you begin to roll out your dough, brush your pan or flan ring with melted butter. Keep a small bowl of flour nearby as you roll. Some flour
on the work surface is absolutely necessary to keep the pastry from stick-
ing, but use as little as possible. The softer the dough and the warmer the
weather, the most flour you will end up using. If the dough cracks when
you begin to roll it, let it stand a bit to soften; if it is greasy or sticking too much to the work surface, refrigerate it again until firm. (Remember that working pastry with your hands too much will develop the gluten in the
flour, which will make it elastic and difficult to roll out, and result in a
tough crust.)
To roll, place a ball of pastry in the center of a floured surface. Pound the ball with a rolling pin to flatten it into a disk about 1 inch thick. Begin rolling the dough from the center of the disk, turning it slightly clockwise after each stroke to make an even circle. (Dust both the surface of the dough and the underside as necessary to prevent sticking.)
Roll dough into a circle at least 2 inches larger in diameter than the ring or pan to be lined, and to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Roll in short strokes, stopping short of the edges of the dough so the edges don’t get too thin.
Lift and turn the circle every so often to keep it from sticking.
When the circle is finished, fold it gently into quarters, set the center
point in the center of the pan, and then unfold carefully. Or you may
set the rolling pin across the top edge of the dough, and roll the rolling
pin downward, rolling the dough around the pin. Unroll the dough into
the mold.
If the dough is too soft to line the pan, slip it onto a baking sheet and
chill for a few minutes until firm enough to handle. If it gets too firm,
let it soften at room temperature so that it doesn’t crack when you try
to line the pan.
To fit the dough into the pan, go around the edges systematically, picking
up the dough and easing it down so that it fits gently into the corners and
sides of the pan. Don’t stretch the dough to fit, or it will shrink later during baking. Dip the knuckle of your index finger in flour and go around the
pan, pressing the dough into the corners with your knuckle. With your
three middle fingers inside the pan and your thumb at the same point
outside, press the dough into the sides of the pan, pinching slightly if
necessary to make sure that the dough is an even thickness all around
and especially that the dough is not too thick along the corners. The side pastry must be at a right angle to the bottom at this point (no sloping
sides), or you’ll lose the height of the shell when it shrinks during baking.
Finally, with a sharp paring knife, trim the pastry even with the top of
the pan and chill until firm.
To blind bake: After a lined flan ring or pie pan has chilled for abou
 one hour (to allow the gluten t relax and to prevent shrinkage when the dough is cooked), completely line the bottom and sides with parchment
paper, aluminum foil, or coffee filters. (I prefer the large, flat-bottomed
coffee filters from automatic drip coffee makers, because they’re pliable,
reusable, and soft enough not to damage the unbaked pastry. If the fil-
ters aren’t large enough to line the entire shell, arrange three or four of
them in an over-lapping pattern to completely cover the bottom and
drape over the sides.)
Fill the lining, up to the top of the rim, with dried beans or metal pie
weights (sold at cookware shops), both of which can be saved and
reused. Make sure the beans are pressed tightly into the corners of the
dough. Bake in a preheated 350-degree [F] oven for 25 minutes, until
the top of the crust is golden brown. Cool completely. Remove beans
or pie weights with a large spoon and carefully peel off paper lining. If
the pastry is still moist on the bottom or not golden in color, return it
to the oven for a few more minutes until fully cooked.
 

Featured Archive Recipes:
Nancy Silverton's Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Basic Pie Crust Recipes
Cream Cheese Pastry
Dorie Greenspan's Sweet Tart Pastry,
from "Paris Sweets"

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