Pâte Brisée
Erin Jeanne McDowell

Photo by Julia Gartland
- Serves
- 1 (9-inch/23-centimeter) pie crust
- Prep Time
- 10 Minutes
The classic French pastry dough is fairly easy to make and a little less temperamental than American pie dough because the butter is mixed in more thoroughly. The result is still tender and has a flaky mouthfeel, though the texture is more crumbly than my All-Buttah Dough, which also makes it great for decorating pies with. This dough is best baked at 400°F/205°C. To par-bake, bake with pie weights for 15 to 17 minutes, until the crust is beginning to turn pale golden around the edges. Remove the weights and continue to bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden. To blind bake, bake for 7 to 10 minutes more after removing the pie weights, until evenly golden. Adapted from The Book on Pie.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (150 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) fine sea salt
- 8 tablespoon (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch/1-centimeter cubes
- 3 tablespoon (45 grams) ice water, plus more as needed
Featured Video
Pâte Brisée
Directions
- Step 1
In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add the butter and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Step 2
Drizzle the water around the flour mixture, then pulse to incorporate. If the dough comes together into a ball, stop pulsing. If the dough is dry or crumbly, add more water 1 tablespoon (15 grams) at a time until it comes together.
- Step 3
Form the dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.