Pate Sucree Dough

Pâte sucrée is a French term means “sweet dough”, it is also known as a short (shortcrust) pastry or a sweet pastry

Pâte sucrée is used to create a variety of desserts in particular tarts and tartlets. The dough is made with very basic ingredients butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and can be easily enhanced by adding a variety of citrus zest or vanilla extract. Once baked you will end up with rich, crisp, and pleasantly sweet crust.

Ingredients:

• 220 g (8 oz) softened, unsalted butter,
  Notes: the main functions are add flavor the final product, keep gluten development low and create crisp, but tender crust
• 110 g (4 oz) sugar,
  Notes: the main functions are sweeten the dough, help to prevent gluten development and help the product to nicely brown in oven
• 1 large egg,
  Notes: the main functions are add flavor, richness, color and moisture to the dough, bind the dough together
• ½ tsp salt,
• (optional) 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract,
• 340 g all-purpose flour (12 oz / 2 ½ cups)
  Notes: better to use low in protein flour (all-purpose / cake / pastry flour), low amount of protein helps to keep dough nicely tender

Before start you need to bring all the ingredients to room temperature.

Process:

Dough preparation:

• place the butter into a big bowl and add the sugar,
• combine using a wooden spoon until just blended together until there are no lumps,
  Note: vigorously blending or using mixer will help to incorporate too much air, that make the dough too unstable),
• in a separate bowl, combine the egg, vanilla and salt,
• beat with a fork to blend everything together,
• add egg mixture to the sugar and butter,
• mix again until evenly combined, don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl,
• add all of the flour at once and fold in until it’s just incorporated,
  Notes: do not over mix, as it will cause too much gluten development, that will provide unnecessary elasticity to the dough and the final crust will be tough,
• gather the dough together and place onto the countertop,
• knead the dough briefly by "rubbing" until the flour is fully covered with the fat from the butter
  Notes: do not overwork the dough, as it also will case gluten development,
• bring the dough together and shape into flat rectangle,
• wrap tightly with plastic wrap and slightly press to flatten,
• let it chill in place the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Dough notes:

If you are planning to use the dough the same day - place it onto a tray and into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill. Keep in mind that dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
If you make the dough for future use - place it onto a tray and into the freezer, where it can be stored for 2 months. Keep in mind that dough must be completely thawed in the refrigerator before being rolling out.

Roll the dough:

• dust the counter and rolling pin lightly with flour,
• gently lift and turn the dough slightly after every couple of rolls, dust lightly with flour if anything sticks, it will prevent the dough from sticking to the counter,
  Note: if the dough is cracking as you start rolling it out, allow it to sit at room temperature for a few more minutes,
• roll the dough out to about 1/8" of an inch thick,
  Note: work quickly - the dough shouldn’t get too warm, if the dough is getting too warm or become too soft to work with - place it on the floured baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator,

• once the dough is rolled out - place the tart shell onto the dough and cut around, leaving about an inch or so,
• remove the tart shell and the excess dough,
  Note: the leftover dough can be pushed back together and used for another time,
• gently lift the dough and place it into the tart shell,
  Note: dough is very forgiving - don’t worry if it tears, you can easily press the dough together,
• press the dough into the base and along the sides and pinch the dough over the edge of the tart pan to form a thicker wall,
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• poke the base of the dough a few times with a fork,

• place the shell onto a tray and into the freezer or refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to ensure the dough is very cold before baking.

Blind baking the tart shell:

• preheat the oven to 190º C (375º F),
• remove the shell from the refrigerator and place a piece of parchment inside,
• fill with dried baking beans or pie weights and flatten the beans slightly to ensure the base and sides are evenly weighed down,

• place the tart shell into the oven and bake for about 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden,
• once the shell has started to set - remove it from the oven and remove the beans, the dough should look like it has started to cook and set and the edges should also look a bit golden
• place the shell back into the oven and continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown
Note: for even browning, you can rotate the tray during baking if the edges are getting too dark, when the base looks undercooked - place a piece of parchment over top
• once done, place onto a rack to cool completely.