With a batch of this easy-to-make dough in the freezer you can create a huge range of fancy and delicious tartlets in merely minutes. Convert any of your favorite quiche recipes, or just bake the shells and fill them with a soft cheese.
Yield: enough for 2 dozen tartlets
Active time: 15 minutes
Start to finish: 15 minutes
2 cups brown rice flour
11/2 cups potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
2 large eggs
1/3 cup ice water
1. Combine brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, and salt in a mixing bowl, and whisk well. Cut butter into cubes the size of lima beans, and cut into dry ingredients using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips until mixture forms pea-sized chunks. This can also be done in a food processor fitted with the steel blade using on-and-off pulsing.
2. Combine eggs with ice water in a small bowl, and whisk well. Sprinkle mixture over dough, 1 tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with fork until dough forms a ball. If using a food processor, process until mixture holds together when pressed between two fingers.
3. Divide dough in half, and form into a flat “pancake.” Wrap each “pancake” in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll and fill dough per instructions in individual recipes.
Note: The crust can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. Also, both dough “pancakes” and rolled out sheets can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Improvisation is the name of the game when it comes to kitchen equipment. No fancy round cutters in your kitchen? No problem. Look for a drinking glass, cup, or even a metal can in the recycling bin with the correct diameter and you’re all set. Don’t have a rolling pin? Cover a glass bottle with aluminum foil and use it to roll dough.