All-Purpose Pastry dough is true to its name. It takes just a few minutes to put together. It’s easy to roll out; and it can be used for any type of pie or tart you make. For a sweeter crust, click on this link for Sugar Crust.
All-Purpose Pastry dough is called Pate Brisée in French and the Sugar Crust is called Pate Sucrée. My recipes are a non dairy version of these French standards. Replacing butter is always an issue. There are many different margarines out there. You have to experiment to see which one you prefer. Some of them are based on nuts; so be careful if you’re dealing with nut allergies. There is also coconut spread which is great in crusts. It’s not always available. Personally, I don’t like using oil as a substitute for butter; but many people do like using it.
Naturally, you can always buy a prepared pastry crust. They’re actually quite good. You can make them look home made by squeezing the edges all around to get rid of the pre-fab look.
Prep time: 5 minutes in processor
All-Purpose Pastry Dough
By Published: June 16, 2016
Yield:
- 10-11 inch single crust or 9 inch double crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons chilled non-dairy margarine or 6 ounces coconut spread
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Equipment
- electric food processor steel knife inserted
Directions
- Pour flour and salt into bowl of processor. Pulse a second or two. Cut margarine (or coconut spread) into tablespoons and add to flour. Pulse again until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Beat egg with water. Turn processor on and slowly pour egg through the feeding tube. The mixture will turn quickly into dough and qather around the side of the bowl. If it looks too dry, add more water, one teaspoon at a time and continue to process. When it's done, scrape it out onto a sheet of waxed paper. For a single crust, flatten the dough into a somewhat flat disk and wrap it well. For a double crust: divide dough into two pieces-one slightly larger than the other. Wrap each piece separately in waxed paper. Chill dough for at least one hour before rolling it out. If you have chosen to make your dough with the coconut spread, you can immediately press it into the flan ring with your fingers. Make sure to press it up the sides to form a rim; then chill it before filling it with baking beads and baking it.
- PAR-BAKED SHELL: Preheat oven to 425° F. Removed dough from fridge 20 minutes before rolling. Line cookie sheet with baking parchment. Place flan ring on top of parchment. Roll out dough on a flat floured surface until it is about 1/8th inch thick. Fold it in half gently and carefully lie it down in the middle of the pie dish or flan ring, Unfold one side and adjust dough so that it is even in the ring. Trim the dough so that you can fold over about 1/4 inch of dough over the edge of the ring to make it stronger. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough with a fork. Spread a large piece of heavy foil over the bottom of the dough so that it comes up the sides and pour baking beads on top of it. Chill 15 minutes. Bake pie shell on bottom level of oven for 10-12 minutes or until top edges begin to brown. Carefully, remove foil with baking beads from the crust. If any parts of the crust have bubbled, prick them gently with a fork. Bake five minutes more. Cool completely on rack before filling.
- PRE-BAKED SHELL: Follow the directions above through filling the shell with baking beads, Bake shell 18-20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and beads. Bake five minutes longer. Cool completely on rack before filling.
- TO REMOVE CRUST FROM FLAN RING: Examine crust to be sure that it is totally separated from ring. Use a sharp knife to carefully detach any crust that is stuck. Lift the ring off the crust with your hands or two forks. You can then gently slide the crust of the cookie sheet onto a serving platter.
