posted by Mimi Hiller 03-21-99 1:06 PM
Source: "The Way to Cook" by Julia Child.
Pate Brisee Fine (Butter Dough)
For two 9" tart shells or a 14x4.5" rectangular crust
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached (I weigh my flour,
so that would be approx. 6 ounces)
1/2 cup plain, bleached cake flour
1 t. salt
6 ounces (1-1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, quarted lengthwise and
diced
1/4 cup (2 oz.) chilled vegetable shortening
1/2 cup ice water, plus droplets more, if needed
Blending flour and butter. Have all the ingredients measured out and
ready to use.
Put the flour, salt and diced butter in the container of the food
processor and pulse 5 or 6 times to break up the butter roughly.
Add the shortening, turn on the machine, and immediately pour in the 1/2
cup of ice water, then pulse 2 or 3 times.
Remove the cover and feel the dough---it should look like a bunch of
small lumps, and will just hold together in a
mass when you press a handful together. (It's important not to overmix;
it should not mass on the blade of the machine.)
If too dry, pulse in droplets more water.
From now on work rapidly to keep the dough cold and manageable.
Final blending. Turn the dough out onto your work surface; press it
into a rough mass.
For the final blending,
rapidly and roughly, with the heel (not the palm) of your hand,
push egg-size clumps of dough out in front of you in
a 6" smear.
Resting and Chilling:
Form the dough into a cake---it should be
fairly smooth and pliable.
Wrap in plastic, slide it
into a plastic bag and refrigerate.
Freshly made dough should
chill 2 hours at least, allowing the flour particles to absorb the
liquid, as well as to firm the butter and relax the gluten.
This dough is rolled out and prebaked (the sides may collapse and the
bottom will most likely bulge if you don't
weight down with pie weights or dried beans).
To do this, she says:
Cut a square of lightweight foil 4" larger than the diameter of your
shell.
Lightly butter the shiny side and make a
pouch of it, shiny side down.
Fill with a good handful or two
of beans or aluminum bits. Gently line the pastry shell
with the foil, pressing it against the edges.
Bake about 15 min. at 450F.
Bake in the lower middle level of the
preheated oven. (Check in 5 min. If you find the
edges have collapsed in places, push them up with a spatula or patch
with raw dough and brace more beans against them.)
Bake until the bottom of the pastry is set but still slightly soft.
Remove the foil and beans, prick the bottom again with a fork, and bake
a few minutes more, until the pastry is just
beginning to color and to separate slightly from the edges of the ring.
Let cool 10 minutes before unmolding onto a
rack.
(For quiche, I cool the shell longer in the pan...I use a glass pie pan
for this...before adding the filling and baking.)