All-Butter Pie Crust
This food processor recipe for pâte Brisée, the traditional French shortcrust used for pies and tarts, is astonishingly simple to make and yields a sturdy, flaky crust with rich, buttery flavor.
If you’re familiar with making pastry dough, you might be scandalized at the thought of using a food processor to cut in cold butter. I know I was the first time I heard about it. The reason it works is that a food processor is so much more powerful than a fork or pastry cutter wielded by hand that it breaks the butter up and incorporates it very quickly, before it has a chance to get warm and melty. Warm and melty is the enemy of flaky pie crust. After you mix it in the food processor and let it chill for at least an hour, the same rules apply to this recipe as with any other pie dough. Roll it out as quickly as you can, handling it as little as possible. If you aren’t going to bake the tart right away or if you think you might have over-handled it, put it back in the fridge to chill until you’re ready to bake.
This dough is easy to work with and comes together in a matter of minutes with very little fuss. Try it once and you will never go back to store bought pie shells.
Notes
Makes one double pie crust
This dough will keep in the fridge for several days, or freeze well-wrapped for several months. If you chill it for more than a few hours, it will be a little too hard to roll when you take it out of the refrigerator. Let it sit on the counter until it softens enough to be pliable but is still cold
If you don't have pastry flour, you may substitute a second cup of all-purpose flour instead. Pastry flour makes the crust a bit more tender, but this recipe is still delicious with all-purpose. Do not use all pastry flour, however, or the crust will not be sturdy enough to support a pie
You may omit the sugar from the crust for a savory pie or as desired. If making a savory pie, I like to add fresh chopped herbs (chives, thyme, etc.) to the dough in place of sugar. Use 2 tablespoons of fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons of dried herbs
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, cold
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup pastry flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Cut butter into four or five pieces per stick
- Attach the 'S' blade to your food processor
- Add all ingredients to the processor's mixing bowl and use the mix or dough speed to combine until ingredients form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. This will take between 30 seconds and 2 minutes depending on the power of the food processor and how cold the butter is
- Flatten the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick and wrap in plastic wrap
- Refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out
- Bake according to the instructions in your pie recipe
