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Ingredients
- FOR 1 SINGLE CRUST PIE OR TARTE.
- With just a touch of sugar, this tender crust cradles the pastry cream and glazed-pear filling especially well.
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons ice water
Preparation
Step 1
Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Stir together egg yolk and 1 1/2 Tbsp water and drizzle evenly over butter mixture. Gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add remaining 1/2 Tbsp ice water, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.)
Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat.
Gather all dough into a ball, with a pastry scraper, then flatten into a disk.
Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.
COOKS NOTE: Dough can be chilled up to 2 days.