Savory Tart Pastry, Pâte Briseé Recipe

Adapted from Micheal Roux’s Pastry savoury & sweet, this Tart base is buttery yet easily workable, without being too short. Perfect for savory tarts and even sweet pastries, you can either make this recipe in advance or simply use it straight away! Definitely one of the most fragrant and light tart pastries I have tried for my savory tarts.

Tips: Just like working with sweet pastry doughs, or all pastry doughs for that matter, the key points are listed below! 

• Work in a well ventilated room or in a space that is cool-temperatured, to ensure the butter doesn’t melt and separate the pastry.
• Humid and hot environments (e.g. Hong Kong) – blasting air-con or placing the pastry immediately in the fridge if you feel it softening too much. Then continue working the pastry when it begins to firm up again.

Doesn’t hurt, if you are willing to fork out a few extra bucks, to get a marble slab or rolling pin to keep your pastry cool while rolling!

Here are some youtube links you might find useful:

[Savoury Tart Pastry]

Prep Time: 20 mins                Refrigeration Time: 2 hours

Ingredients & tools:

• 150g very cold butter, in small pieces
• 250g Plain/ All-purpose flour (sifted)
• 1 teaspoon fine table salt
• 1 pinch fine sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon Cold milk

How to: 

1. Using a Food processor or standing mixer, add the small pieces of butter in the bowl. At a low -medium speed (setting 2), homogenize butter with the paddle attachment.
2. Add the egg, salt & sugar into the butter
3. Sift the flour into the wet mixture (grainy texture).
4. Combine ingredients, while slowly adding the milk, until a dough forms (using the paddle attachment). DON’T OVERWORK.
5. Use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball. Cling wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. 

Blind baking

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Cooking : 180°C/ 356 °F/ Gas mark 4

Tips: Roll the pastry out between sheets of grease-proof paper for easy transfer onto the tart tin! 

1. Using a fork, lightly poke the base of the casing without piercing through
2. blind bake pastry for 15 minutes, lining the casing with aluminium foil filled with weights (beans, rice or baking beads).
3. Take out the tart base and remove the ‘foil tray’. Using a sharpe knife, trim off excess pastry hanging off the sides of the tin.
4. Further bake casing (without the weights) for another 5 minutes, or until golden brown.