Here it is! basic unsweetened pie crust, used for savory pies and salted tarts.

I just love this pie crust because I know it can’t get wrong with the topping. Besides, I get to have it in the freezer on standby for any occasion.

Now that it is summer and we need lots of freshness in our menus, I am certainly doing couple of those for my gatherings.

The only tricky part is the molding, so just hold on tight till the last part:

Ingredients:
for 24 cm tart pan
180g Flour
70g Butter (room temperature)
30g Egg yolk (which means 1 big egg yolk depending on how much organic the eggs are)
9g Salt
and 10g of cream (I cheat with adding the cream so that dough doesn’t break)

1st Method: Classic Sablage, by hand:
preparation: 15 minutes
storing: 30 minutes
baking: 10-15 minutes
1. Put the flour  and salt on your work surface. Add the diced butter, work it with your bear hands until you get a fluffy “sandy” texture. make sure that butter is melted within the flour, you shouldn’t feel any butter pieces.
2. Mound the “sandy” dough with a whole in the center.
3. Add the egg yolk and cream  in the center and gradually mix the dough with the liquid ingredients by hand. the dough is ready when barely moistened and come together into a ball.
> don’t overwork the dough otherwise it will be tough to roll it out.
4. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to avoid stickiness when rolling it out (main cause of stickiness is the melted butter).
5. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper- allow a 3 mm thickness and put it in a 24 cm tart pan.
6. Preheat the oven at 160°C and bake the pie crust 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.

2nd Method: Modern Sablage, with the robot
preparation: 8 minutes
storing: 30 minutes
baking: 10-15 minutes
1. Mix together the diced butter, the flour and salt until you get a sandy texture
2. Add the egg yolk and cream.
3. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to avoid stickiness when rolling it out (main cause of stickiness is the melted butter).
5. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and put it in a 24 cm tart pan.
6. Preheat the oven at at 160°C and bake the pie crust 10-15 minutes.

A general advice for the “cuisson a blanc” (aka baking the tart without toppings): put chickpeas on a butter paper on the dough before putting in the oven.

The color must be golden (light brown) and the smell should take over your entire home!

The Urban Apron