How to Make a Tart Crust

This tart crust is a good all-purpose dough for sweet tarts and pastries. It forms the base of our fruit tart eHow.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 2 tsp. water
• 7 tbsp. semi-soft unsalted butters
• 1 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. sugars

1. Sift the flour onto a clean, smooth work surface and make a well in the center.
2. Use the fingertips of one hand to mix the remaining ingredients together in the well, and use a flexible pastry scraper in the other hand to mix the flour in with the other ingredients.
3. When the dough starts to gather together into crumbs, use your fingers to press the crumbs firmly together to form a ball of dough.
4. With the heel of your hand and the pastry scraper, keep flattening the dough out and blending it back into a ball until it becomes smooth and feels velvety.
5. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• There are two crucial steps in this recipe: The first is blending the ingredients together until smooth. The idea is to coat each particle of flour with some of the butter and egg. The most crucial step, however, is to chill the dough. By working it with your hands to blend, you activate the gluten in the flour. Chilling the dough lets the gluten relax. If it doesn't, the dough will be tough and will pull away from the pan when you bake it.
• Omit the sugar if using this dough for quiche or another savory tart.