Sweet Pastry Dough

All tarts start with this classic dough, also called pâte brisée (pronounced “PAHT bree-ZAY”). It’s light, firm, crunchy, and very buttery. You’ll need ceramic pie weights or dried beans to weight the crust as it bakes.

2 cups all-purpose fl our, plus additional for dusting

1⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Stir the fl our, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Cut the butter into the fl our with a pastry cutter or a fork, pressing the fl our against the butter and through the tines, repeating this process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal or sand, until there are no chunks of butter visible.
• Stir in the egg yolk with a fork, then stir in the ice water in two additions until a loose dough forms.
• Dribble a few drops of water on your work surface, then lay a piece of wax paper over them. Dust lightly with fl our, then gather the dough into a ball and place it on the floured paper. Press down lightly until the dough looks like a partially deflated basketball, then dust lightly with fl our. Lay a second sheet of wax paper over the dough and roll the dough into a 12-inch circle.
• Peel off the top sheet of wax paper. Pick up the dough and the bottom sheet of wax paper; invert both over a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom (the bottom is in place, of course). Center the dough over the pan and peel off the wax paper.
• Gently push the dough into the pan, getting it into the corners and up the sides without tearing it. Trim off any excess above the pan’s rim. The natural fluting of the edge will crimp the dough decoratively; just make sure the dough itself is pressed against this edge and formed to it.
• Prick the dough in several places across the bottom and sides with a fork. Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the dough in the pan and fill the foil with 2 cups ceramic pie weights or dried beans. (The beans will be worthless for cooking later, but can be used again and again as pie weights.)
• Bake for 15 minutes, then peel off the foil, taking the weights or beans with it. Continue baking until lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes.
• To cool: Set on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before using. (Be careful when handling the pan: the sides can slip off the crust if you place your hand under the pan’s bottom.)

Makes one 10-inch pastry crust for tarts