Brisée Pastry (pâté brisée - shortcrust pastry) - Basic Dough

Shortcrust pastry, with a crispy and crumbly texture, becomes the perfect base for pies and quiches thanks to its traditional and simple ingredients.
baked
vegetarian
Ingredients
Servings
4
Measurement units

Shortcrust (brisee)

  • 270 gplain flour (or pastry flour)
  • 150 gbutter (50% of the flour, or a little more)
  • 1 unitatlarge egg
  • 80 gwhite sugar (if you want it slightly sweet)
  • 1 gsalt (for a quiche base, ½ teaspoon)
  • 1 sobrevanilla sugar
  • 2 culleradescold water (if needed)
  • 1 lemon zest (optional)

Sablee pastry

  • 240 gplain flour (or pastry flour)
  • 150 gbutter (at least 50% of the flour)
  • 1 unitatlarge egg
  • 100 gicing sugar
  • 1 gsalt
  • 1 sobrevanilla sugar
  • 30 galmond flour (preferably lightly toasted)
  • 1 beinavanilla pod
  • 1 lemon zest (optional)

Sweet pastry (sucree)

  • 240 gplain flour (or pastry flour)
  • 140 gbutter (at least 50% of the flour)
  • 1 unitatlarge egg
  • 110 gicing sugar
  • 1 gsalt
  • 50 galmond flour (preferably lightly toasted)
  • 1 beinavanilla pod
  • 1 lemon zest (optional)
Nutritional Information

Per 100 g

Calories
439 kcal
Protein
7.4 g
Fat
23.5 g
Carbohydrates
51.4 g

Calculated from reviewed ingredient weights and pinned USDA FoodData Central records.

Step-by-step Guide

Pasta Sablée - Basic Dough

  1. In a large bowl, mix 250 g of flour with 125 g of cold butter cut into small cubes until the mixture has a crumbly texture. Use your hands or an electric mixer on low speed for about 3 minutes.
  2. Add 100 g of sugar and a pinch of salt, and stir until well combined.
  3. Add 1 whole egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix by hand with a silicone spatula until a homogeneous and compact dough forms, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Flatten the dough into a disc about 2 cm thick. Wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to cool and make the dough easier to work with.

Sweet Pastry (pâté sucrée) - Basic Dough

Sweet Pastry (pâté sucrée) - Basic Dough
  1. The ingredients should be used cold, directly from the refrigerator, preferably in a cool environment, such as a well-ventilated kitchen. This helps maintain the dough's consistency.
  2. The dough should be worked Little and without kneading. If working by hand, gently pinch the dough to combine the ingredients without kneading it. If using a machine, use the hook attachment and mix only until the ingredients are well combined and the dough starts to come together.
  3. After working the dough, it should be allowed to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. This helps to relax the gluten and improves the texture of the dough.

Procedure

Procedure
  1. Sift the flour through a sieve to remove impurities and to aerate it.
  2. Shortcrust pastry should not be kneaded like bread. We should only mix the ingredients by pinching, so that they get integrated while maintaining a crumbly texture. This will help achieve a finer dough.
  3. There are two ways to carry out the first part of kneading. Method-1:
  4. Place the sugar on a clean and dry countertop.
  5. Add the vanilla sugar and grated lemon peel. Mix it with your hands or a spatula.
  6. Now place the cold, whole butter over the sugar mixture. Gently mix until the ingredients begin to integrate.
  7. Incorporate the egg into the mixture and continue mixing until well integrated.
  8. Add the flour all at once and start pinching it with the other ingredients until combined, maintaining a crumbly dough appearance. Avoid overworking the dough to prevent gluten development.
  9. Once the dough is well crumbled, bring it together to form a ball. Do not press or compact it too much. If it doesn't come together due to a lack of moisture, wet your fingers and gently press, but DO NOT add water directly.
  10. Method-2:
  11. First, mix the flour with a pinch of salt and the cold butter from the refrigerator, cut into cubes. Crumble the butter using a scraper by cutting it into small squares and mixing it with the flour while maintaining the small pieces. Note: Use a spatula to cut the butter to avoid warming it with your hands. If using a machine, use the hook and only until the ingredients are combined.
  12. Add the sugar and the whole egg, and begin pinching the flour with the other ingredients until they are integrated, always maintaining a crumbly appearance. Do not overwork the dough to prevent gluten development.
  13. Once the dough is well crumbled, bring it together to form a ball, without pressing or compacting it too much. If it doesn't come together due to a lack of moisture, wet your fingers and gently press, but DO NOT add water directly.
  14. Now it's time to crumble the dough. Flatten and stretch the dough in 3 different directions. Fold it back, without compacting it, and stretch again in 3 different directions. Repeat the process a third time. If it sticks to the table or your hands, it means the butter has warmed up. DO NOT flour the surface, return the dough to the fridge for a while, then continue.
  15. Once crumbled, form a ball without compacting too much, just pressing gently. Lightly dust with flour, wrap with plastic wrap, and let the ball rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
  16. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin. If it's not cold enough, it will crumble and break when you try to roll it. To prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. If it sticks, place the dough sheet back in the fridge for a while.
  17. Cut it to a size slightly larger than the mold it will go into and fit it into the mold. To avoid making holes or warming it by touching it with your fingers, use a ball of dough made from the leftover dough.
  18. Run the rolling pin or a knife along the edge of the mold to remove the excess dough.
  19. Place the mold in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking. Unmold the shortcrust pastry a little while before adding the filling and let the mold rest for another 30 minutes in the refrigerator. It is advisable that, when baked, it is very cold.
  20. When there are 30 minutes left before baking, preheat the oven to 200°C.
  21. The shortcrust pastry should be baked with a weight on top to prevent it from rising and to make it as thin as possible. An easy way to achieve this is to fill the mold with dry chickpeas. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill the mold with the chickpeas.
  22. Bake the pastry at 200°C for about 15 minutes. There are three ways to bake shortcrust pastries:
  23. Pre-bake the shortcrust pastry (always with a weight on top). Then fill it and finish baking (for pies where the filling needs to be cooked). You can also use procedure 3, which often gives the best result.
  24. Shape the dough and fit it to the mold.
  25. Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 30 or 40 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
Recommendations & Tricks
  • Work with ALL ingredients fridge-cold. Refrigerate flour and sugar overnight. Use the butter straight from the fridge.
  • Work it little and without kneading (pinching). In a mixer, use the hook only until the ingredients are combined.
  • Rest it in the cold once worked.
Original recipe
View or download the original PDF document.
Download PDF
    Brisée Pastry (pâté brisée - shortcrust pastry) - Basic Dough | The Catalan Table