Pâte brisée à l’oeuf

Tart Pastry

makes 450 g (1 lb)

220 g (8 oz/1¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

pinch of salt

150 g (6 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and diced

1 egg yolk

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and a little cold water (about 2–3 teaspoons) and mix with a palette knife until the dough just starts to come together. Bring the dough together with your hands and shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. (You can also make the dough in a food processor, using the pulse button.)

Roll out the pastry into a circle on a lightly floured surface and use to line a tart tin, as directed in the recipe. Trim the edge and pinch up the pastry edge to make an even border raised slightly above the rim of the tin. Slide the tin onto a baking tray and rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.