Pâte Brisée

Recipe • Technique

The base for the potato and leek galette. A classic short pastry — cold butter, quick hands, minimal water. The goal is large pea-sized butter pieces flattened into the flour, which creates the flakiness.

Yield: enough for a single 9-inch crust

Ingredients

  • 6½ oz all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 oz butter, cold, medium diced
  • ¼ cup ice cold water, plus more as needed

Directions

  1. Combine 6½ oz flour, 1½ tsp sugar, and ½ tsp salt in a medium bowl. Cut in 4 oz cold diced butter with a pastry blender until you have large pea-sized pieces.
  2. Flatten the butter pieces into the flour quickly using your thumb and fingers.
  3. Make a well in the center. Add about half of the ¼ cup ice cold water and use a bench scraper to cut it into the dough. Add the remaining water slowly, cutting to combine, just until the dough holds together without being sticky or too dry. To test: squeeze a small amount firmly — it should hold together easily.
  4. Wrap in plastic wrap, shape into a flattened disk, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Can be frozen up to 2 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.

To Use

  1. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thickness, moving and flouring as needed to prevent sticking.
  2. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Trim, tuck, and fold the edge. Dock the bottom and sides with a fork before chilling.