Shortcrust pastry is the name given by cooking aficionados to simple "pie crust": a recipe that must absolutely be desecrated as it is so easy and fast. A little flour, water, fat and shoo! But what if, by adding a little something, a flavor, an additional ingredient, you add the touch that will take your pies up a notch in terms of refinement? Here are 4 recipes that are always easy to make for savory or sweet pies.
Olive oil pie dough with herbs
This savory pie dough recipe goes really deliciously with a migaine (yes, that's the name we give to the preparation we pour on the quiches) with vegetables, and it also works well for tomato pies and cheese.
In addition, it is a recipe without butter, which will not be without displeasing to vegans.
Ingredients for an 8 slice pie
250g of flour
10 cl of olive oil
1 egg yolk
1 glass of moderately hot water
1/2 tsp fine salt
The extra thing : you can opt for a mixture of 2/3 white flour, 1/3 wholemeal flour
Preparation (5 to 10 min)
1. In a large salad bowl, combine flour + salt.
2. Dig a well in the flour, and pour in the oil, knead.
3. Add the egg yolk, mix roughly then add water in a very thin stream. Above all, don't pour everything, you probably won't need your whole glass. The water is just used to bind and form a flexible ball.
4. Roll out your dough rolled out (that's what the flattened pie crust is called) on a sheet of baking paper, or on a floured work surface. Then place it on your pie pan either buttered or with its sheet of paper, to prevent the dough from sticking.
Little advice : if your filling is particularly wet, we recommend that you cook your dough a little "à blanc". This means, without garnish, just to harden it on the surface and thus give it more consistency. You can add even more crunch by brushing the bottom of the tart with egg yolk before white baking.
Savory garlic pie crust
This garlic paste makes it possible to enhance vegetables (vegetables of the sun, well-drained spinach) goes perfectly with fish (cod, sardines), or cheese such as cantal, Comté, feta or mozzarella. Add to your pie a little crunch with roasted pine nuts, or southern flavor with black olives (pitted).
Ingredients for 8 portions
- 250 g flour, sifted
- 125 g of soft butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed in a garlic press
- 5g salt
- About 5 cl of lukewarm water (or 5 tbsp)
Preparation 10 min + refrigeration 1 h
1. In a large bowl, pour the flour and salt, and dig a well.
2. In the center of which, you will add the soft butter in pieces, the pulp of garlic and the egg yolk. Mix with your fingertips.
3. Mix, adding the water little by little, and you will stop when your dough reaches a soft and homogeneous consistency. Be careful, do not knead for a long time, otherwise your dough will become too elastic.
4. Reserve in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Flour the work surface and rolling pin (a smooth bottle can also do the trick), roll out your dough before placing it in a buttered mold or covered with a sheet of baking paper.
© Jordane Mathieu / Unsplash
Inspiration for savory garnishes:
Sweet shortcrust pastry with spices
Under a relatively simple filling, such as custard, this dough will turn out wonderfully good. You cannot play with the nature of the spices. Thus the combinations of apple and pear / cinnamon filling, slightly exotic filling / vanilla, fig or plum / ginger-cinnamon filling (gingerbread type), raw strawberry and anise filling in the dough. A chocolate filling can even go well with slightly spicy spices such as chili. In this case, reduce the dose by half.
Ingredients for 8 portions
- 250g of flour
- 125 g butter, softened in pieces
- 5 g fine salt
- 5 tbsp of lukewarm water
- 4 tbsp fine brown sugar
- 1 tsp of spice blend for desserts: cinnamon, vanilla, anise powder, a little ginger
- 1 egg yolk
Little advice : You can opt for a mix for gingerbread from Vahiné in GMS or from Roellinger, the "Rolls" brand of spices! For a more pronounced flavor, dare to force the dose a little.
Preparation 10 min + refrigerated minimum 1 hour
1. Mix the dry ingredients well: flour, salt, sugar and spices and form a fountain on your work surface (you can also work in a large large bowl).
2. Directly with the fingers, incorporate the soft butter and the egg yolk, adjust to lukewarm water in small streams.
3. When the consistency obtained seems homogeneous, roll out your dough with a roller (duly floured), place in a buttered mold or protected with a sheet of baking paper, and keep in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
Little advice : If your filling is relatively liquid, it will be wise to prick the pie shell with a fork and then bake it blank for about twenty minutes at 180 ° C. And so that your dough does not bubble, place baking balls on it, there you will be at the top!
> Reusable ceramic cooking balls (or cores), because this natural material conducts heat well, at Cerf Dellier, to order online, 6.83 € per 500 g pot.
© GettyImages
Ideas for garnishing your sweet pies:
> dark chocolate tart
> lemon tart (meringue or not)
> the classic apple pie and its less classic versions
> almond tart with figs
Sweet pie crust with almonds and citrus fruits
This dough brings a slightly tangy note to your pies. A lemon tart with a lemon paste will be of absolute refinement for lovers. But this fragrant paste can also go well with a garnish of raspberries, pineapple, dark chocolate with pieces of candied fruit, or even a garnish with roasted hazelnut.
Ingredients for 8 to 10 parts
- 200 g flour
- 150 g of softened butter
- 40 g ground almonds
- 20g sugar
- 5 tbsp of lukewarm water
- 4 drops of bergamot or lemon essential oil
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of vanilla powder
Good to know : If you don't have bergamot or lemon essential oil, you can use the zest of half a lemon or a small orange.
> You will find organic essential oil perfect for food at Greenweez, online organic products store here. 4.35 € the bottle.
© GettyImages
Preparation 10 min + refrigeration 1 hour
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, ground almonds and vanilla powder.
2. Dig a well in the center, and add egg yolks + soft butter. Mix with your fingertips.
3. Mix the essential oil in the water then add little by little to the previous mixture. You may need a little more water, but be very gradual in the addition, this is the key.
4. The great chef Joël Robuchon recommends dividing his dough into four small balls and wrapping them before placing them in the refrigerator. This will make the dough easier to roll out when cold.
5. Roll out with a floured roller on your work surface, then place in your mold, pricking the bottom.
Good to know : If you opt for a version with citrus zest rather than an essential oil based version, then mix your finely grated zest in step 2. Do not knead your dough too much: once the consistency is correct, stop. If you are working the dough in a food processor, put the dry ingredients first and then the wet ingredients.
Suggested filling: chocolate ganache (video)
Improve a store-bought dough!
If you have a ready-made dough (industrial dishes are bad but we promise, we will not repeat it!), You can improve it by adding your personal touch: by reworking the dough with cocoa powder (2 cs) for a chocolate version of your dough, or by coating the bottom with a mixture of butter and roasted hazelnuts (3 minutes in a hot pan) then finely crushed.
I still have some dough, what should I do?
Either you have enough left for a second pie, and in this case, know that the pie crust keeps very well in the freezer. Roll it into a ball, wrap it in cling film, and freeze it for the next time (and don't forget to take it out ahead of time so it's malleable).
Either you want to use this leftover right away, and prepare:
- Of appetizer cookies with your salted dough> add 60g of butter and 10g of salt, and rework your dough to amalgamate well, without insisting, however, so as not to make it too elastic if you work it too much. Then roll out your dough to a thickness of 5mm and cut out squares. You can garnish them with grated cheese, a drizzle of olive oil with dried rosemary and salt. Cooking 8 min at 200 ° C.
- Of sweet cookies with one of your sweet pasta> in the same way, add butter (about 40g) and sweeten your dough more (+ 50g according to your taste). You can also add small chocolate chips, cinnamon powder or vanilla. Spread it out to a good thickness of 5 to 8 mm visually. Then with a nice cookie cutter or a simple glass not too large, form pretty cookies. You will improve your cookies by brushing them with beaten egg yolk in a little milk, so that they take on a nice golden color when baking. Bake at 180 ° C for 10 min.
You can then cover them with melted chocolate, using a brush.
Let cool before detaching them.
- with either one, you can cut out pretty shapes (stars, hearts, clovers depending on the cookie cutters you have) and sprinkle them on top of your pie. Wow effect guaranteed!
You will find at Creafirm, on Etsy, very pretty cookie cutters in various cool shapes. We love this assortment of 9 pieces with wavy contours, cheap: € 6 for 9 to order online here.