PASTRY TIPS
Spread a fine film of flour over the bench top so the dough does not stick. Don’t use too much or it will modify the composition of the dough.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to the desired thickness on a bench top dusted with flour. Press on the rolling pin as evenly as possible, and regularly turn the dough a quarter turn as you go.
Add butter cut into small cubes to the flour. Rub with the ends of your fingers and then between your hands, without crushing, until the mixture is sandy or resembles breadcrumbs.
Crush the dough with the palm of your hand to check its smoothness. Do this once or twice.
Punch or crush the dough after proving to release the carbon dioxide gas.
Pass air under the dough by lifting it slightly. This prevents it from shrinking during baking.
Form the dough into a ball to allow even proving. After dividing the dough, roll it between your palm and an unfloured bench top, so it holds a ball shape.
A tart ring allows immediate unmoulding, and resting it directly on a baking tray prevents the formation of air bubbles.
To line a tart ring, start by greasing it with butter. Roll the pastry onto the rolling pin to transport it without tearing it then place it on the ring. With one hand, lift the edges, with the other push it down to create a right angle. Push gently with your thumb, without leaving a mark. The pastry must stick well. You can also cut out a disc of rolled-out pastry (measure the diameter of the ring + twice the height of the side).
9 FINISHING: PINCHING OR TRIMMING
Pinching the edges: nick the edges of the pastry before cooking to provide a neater finish. Use pastry pinchers or a small knife and make diagonal nicks. For a galette, such as an Epiphany cake, hold your fingers 5 mm from the edge of the pastry, pushing lightly. With the blunt side of the point of a knife, pull the pastry towards your fingers with the knife on an angle.
Trimming: cut off the surplus pastry with a utility knife or by running the rolling pin over the top of the ring.
A tart shell can be cooked unfilled or with its filling (such as for an apple tart). The majority of tart shells are cooked unfilled. The fillings are added warm (pastry cream) or uncooked. They are poured into the precooked tart shell then set in the refrigerator. There are several techniques for cooking unfilled pastry:
Rich shortcrust pastry and sablé pastry
If the pastry is used to line a tart ring on a baking tray and the lining is done well, the pastry can be cooked as is, without swelling up. For greater security, you can prick it with a fork or bake it blind.
If the pastry is used to line a tin with a bottom, such as a springform tin, and the lining is not perfect, bubbles of air could form and the pastry swell up. It is better to prick it with a fork or bake it blind.
Shortcrust pastry and puff pastry
These will swell up easily because of their water content. It is better to prick them with a fork or bake them blind.
Pricking with a fork: be careful not to create holes too big, particularly if you will be adding a liquid filling.
Baking blind: cut a disc of baking paper that is larger than the tart. Place it on the pastry and add cooking weights or dried beans.
11 CHECKING IF THE PASTRY IS COOKED
For unfilled pastry, lift the bottom using a palette knife: it should be uniformly golden.
For brioche, prick it with a knife: the blade should come out clean.
For sponges and cakes, touch it; your fingerprint should disappear and the cake should spring back.
For biscuits (such as ladyfingers), look under the baking paper: the biscuit should look very spongy and airy.
