I use this savory tart dough in many recipes, it is the basic tart crust that you need to remember for every quiche or tart you’ll ever need to make.
There is a simple logic to get a good tart crust which will be flaky and crispy, we just need to work with cold ingredients, very cold, this is the only way the dough will behave as we expect it to behave in baking.
Savory Tart Dough recipe
- 200g/ 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 100g/ ½Cup Butter
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 medium Egg
- 3 tbsp ice water
Looks simple, isn’t it? well, it is if we follow the guidelines of the recipe.
Like i said, the idea is to keep all the ingredients super cold so first step is to cut the butter into small cubes and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
I work with a food processor, I find this the easiest way to create a good crust in minimum time.
Place the flour, salt and the ice butter in the food processor and mix for about a minute until the dough is sandy and crumbly, add the egg and mix for about 30 more seconds until the dough begins to form. It’s very important not to overwork the dough, last thing we want is to get a gluten reaction.
It depends on the consistency of the dough but I set 3-4 tablespoons of ice water and I use just as much as needed for the dough to form, I add 1 tablespoon at a time, sometimes I use the whole amount and sometimes I don’t use water at all, it depends on the weather, flour type, butter temperature and egg size, so it varies quite a bit.
Take the dough into a floured working counter, add some more flour if very sticky, the dough should be crumbly, it’s OK don’t worry about it.
Shape the dough into a round flat disk with your fingers, this will make the rolling a lot easier when the dough will be cold, cover with a plastic wrap.
Place the disk in the fridge for at least 2 hours, it can also stay overnight.
Its very important that the dough will be cold when we start to flatten it into our tart shape, the butter needs to stabilized, this is the only way it will not stick to the rolling pin.
Set a floured working surface and spread some more flour on the cold dough, now it’s important to work fast, else we will risk our dough to get sticky and fall apart.
Butter a tart crust baking pan and flatten the dough into a round shape, 2 inch bigger than your tart baking pan, roll the dough around the rolling pin, this is my preferred method of placing the savory tart dough on the tart baking pan.
Set your rolling pin over the tart baking pan and release the dough on the tart pan, trying to be as accurate as possible.
Immediately tighten the edges of the savory tart dough to the baking pan, pushing them gently with your fingers so it will hold stable in the baking process and the edges will stay firm.
When the tart dough is tightened up to the sides and bottom of the baking pan take your rolling pin and go over the edges of the tart pan in order to cut the excess dough, immediately place the tart pan in the freezer for 10 minutes or in the fridge for about an hour.
The butter needs to stabilize again and the gluten reaction needs to be stopped, this will ensure a crispy light savory tart crust.