Pate Brisee

The key to getting a flaky pie crust without the addition of shortening or any chemical cheats is a French technique known as fraisage. It is used to blend the dough after all the ingredients have been cut together. Traditionally, it is performed by using the heel of your hand to smear the dough little by little across a floured board.

A rolled out pate brisee crust

Ingredients:

1¾ cups (245 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbl granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks/225 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½- to 1-inch pieces

2 large cold egg yolks (about 40)

3 Tbl whole milk

Directions:

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, and salt on low speed until just combined, 3 to 5 seconds. Add the butter pieces in an even layer, and briefly pulse the mixer (quickly turning the machine on and off) on the lowest speed for 3 to 5 seconds so that the flour begins to stick to the butter and doesn’t splatter. After 3 to 5 seconds, turn the mixer on low speed and leave it running until the dough is about halfway combined, about 30 to 45 seconds. The butter should slightly coat the flour, but there should still be plenty of pecan-size butter chunks. The dough should begin to hold its shape when squeezed together.

In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the egg yolks and milk until blended, about 10 seconds. Add the egg-milk mixture to the flour mixture in the standing mixer. Mix the ingredients on low speed until the dough just barely comes together and looks shaggy, about 30 to 45 seconds.

Dump the dough out onto a clean countertop (not onto the plastic wrap), then gather it together into one cohesive mound. There should be small chunks of butter visible within the dough, and the butter should still be cold. Using your palm, start at one side of the mound and smear the dough bit by bit, beginning at the top and then sliding your palm down the side and along the work surface, pushing the dough into your work surface. This is a technique known in French as fraisage. When finished, you should have no more loose flour, though the dough may still look a little shaggy.

Wrapping and Chilling Your Pâte Brisée (Pie Dough)

Lay the sheet of plastic wrap on a clean work surface. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly in the plastic wrap, ensuring that it is fully sealed. Turn the ball over and press it into a disc that’s about 1-inch thick. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours or ideally overnight.

 Wrapped dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen pie dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours before rolling it out and baking it.

Blind-Baking Your Pâte Brisée (Pie Dough)

Heat the oven to 350°Fand position a rack in the center of the oven.

Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator, and trim any jagged edges from the pie dish using kitchen shears. Save the dough scraps to create your lattice top. Leave a bit of overhang to account for shrinkage during baking.

Blind-bake the shell. Line the unbaked pie shell with parchment paper, fill the shell with an even layer of pie weights (such as uncooked rice or beans, small rocks, or pebbles), and bake until the entire shell is light brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Rotate the shell once halfway through baking. You’ll know the shell is done when you lift up one part of the parchment and see that the dough is matte in appearance. (Note: Rice or beans will not be edible after blind-baking, but they can be reused as pie weights in the future.)