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Monday, March 5, 2012

Crispy flan pastry for pastry newbies / pate a foncer



Makes about 240g pastry, for a 18-20 cm pan.

Ingredients :

125g plain flour
62g butter, cubed, slightly softened
1/2 of one beaten egg 
1/2 tsp fine sugar
1/4 tsp fine salt
20ml cold milk

This flan pastry is less delicate but crispier  than the usual pate brisee, most suitable for a pastry newbie like me.

Instead of the usual butter and flour rubbing process, heap the flour in a deep bowl. Creating a hollow in the center of the flour which holds the butter, egg, sugar and salt.  Using a pair of  chopsticks, cream and mix all the ingredients in the hollow. 

Next gradually draw the surrounding flour to the wet portion. It should end up a grainy mound of pastry base.

Finally, add cold milk and mix to hold the dough together.

Use the palm , stretch and flatten the dough until it is smooth.

Gather the dough together again into a ball, wrap and chill until ready to use.

This amount of pastry is sufficient for a pan of about 20 cm in diameter .

Credits : Adapted from Michel Roux's 'Pastry Savoury and Sweet '

2 comments:

  1. is the dough easy to handle at room temperature? I guess that's generally the issue that most of us face with tart pastries, the dough being too soft to be pliable at room termpature.

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  2. Yes, it is easier to handle than the usual recipes. It helps to put the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes, esp if you have warm hands or warm kitchen. Any colder and the dough cracks easily when rolled out.

    Any tip : Chill a glass chopping board when you make pastry and use it as your worktop. Or use the glass shelf of your fridge as a worktop. That way, you chill both dough and work surface. It also reduces the flour needed for dusting.

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