Make this recipe ahead of time so that you have at least an hour to chill the dough in the fridge. The prep and mixing takes about 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3 to 5 tbs cold ice water
Directions
Cut the butter up into pieces. Using a food processor, pulse the flour, butter & salt until just mixed and there are no more large pieces of butter. Don’t over process or that will warm up the butter and make the dough a bit too sticky to work with.
Add 3 tablespoons of ice water to the dough and pulse until just incorporated. Test to see if the dough will just hold together by squeezing a little bit in your hand. If it’s too dry, add another tablespoon or two.
Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for an hour or until you’re ready to use it.
Pre-bake Crust
I usually like to pre-bake my pastry crusts because I think it generally makes for a crisper crust when making a tart or quiche. However, you’ll find online a variety of opinions on the necessity of doing it, so there’s no hard and fast rule.
- To pre-bake the crust, heat the oven to 425º. Roll out the dough and line whatever dishes you’re using, most likely the standard 9″ pastry dish.
- Then line with foil and bake for 8 minutes.
- Remove the foil and back for another 4-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
- Take it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before adding your tart filling.
