La petite biscotte

This easy to make pastry is often used as a base for tarts or pies. When baked, it does not rise up, but instead reaches a nice crunchy texture. Usually I just buy a roll of shortcrust pastry at the supermarket because I don’t have much time, but whenever I can I try to make it myself.

Pâte brisée is used a lot in french cuisine for both savory and sweet tarts. Possible fillings are tomatoes, zucchini, ham and cheese, apples, figs etc. Some people make a sweet alternative called sweetcrust pastry by adding sugar to the original recipe. Personally I use the basic shortcrust pastry for sweet tarts as well because I love the contrast between sweet and salty.

The pastry itself is very easy to make, however the tricky part is to prevent it from getting soggy once you add the filling (which mostly doesn’t need to cook as long as the pastry itself). This is why it’s very important to lay out a pie/tart-form with the finished dough and prebake it for approximately 10 minutes without the filling. This will ensure that the pastry is baked properly at the end and that it doesn’t absorb the liquid from the filling before the latter solidifies.

Ingredients

• 200g flour
• 100g soft but still cold butter (unsalted)
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 cl water
• 1 teaspoon salt

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Preparation

1. Pass the flour through a sieve and make a little pile with it.
2. Form a hole with your fingers in the middle of the pile and add the butter.
3. Work the flour and the butter a little until you have a pile of crumbs (you can do this with a food processor as well).
4. Form another hole and add the egg yolk, the water and the salt.
5. Knead everything well with your hands until your pastry has a smooth but firm texture. If it feels wet still and if it sticks to your hand, gradually add flour until it reaches the desired texture. Do not work it too long or it will start to fall apart.
6. You can wrap the pastry in a piece of clingfilm and refrigerate it for later use. Actually it is recommended to let it rest for approximately 2 hours in the fridge. If you don’t have the time you can still use it right away.
7. Roll out the pastry so it becomes a round, 5-7 mm thick sheet.
8. Lay out a tart/pie form and pierce the pastry a few times with a fork.
9. If you want to make a tart or a pie, remember to prebake the pastry for approximately 10 minutes before adding the filling.