There are three types of pastry dough in a classically trained chef’s arsenal that should be known by heart. To the uninformed observer, these doughs may seem quite similar, even interchangeable. However subtle their differences may seem they are each important and when used correctly transport a pie or tart to new heights of glory. We’ll deconstruct the differences between each dough for you so you’ll know when and how to use each.
These three doughs can be remembered by association:
SUgar for SUcrée
SAndy for SAblée
BRoken for BRisée
Brisée
This is the most basic of our three crusts and contains only flour, butter, salt, and cold water making it great for savory bakes. Think of it as the standard French crust. The ingredients are very similar to our American flaky pie dough but the incorporation of ingredients are slightly different.
With American pastry, we emphasize the “rubbing in” of cold butter into flour which gives us that irregular flaky texture. While the French also mix their butter into flour while it’s still cold, they generally rely on the use of a standing mixer. Sometimes going as far as adding an egg yolk (in which case the crust is then referred to as a pâte à
Great for: Savory meat pies and quiche
Sucrée
Think sugar when making a paté sucrée, its name even means “sweet dough” in French. Very similar to the paté brisée ingredient-wise, the sucrée differs slightly when it comes to method. When making the sucrée you cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg and flour. What you get is a light, crisp dough. With a tight cookie-like crumb that’s strong enough to hold liquid fillings without the worry of leakage.
Great for: Cream pies, chocolate ganache pies, and fruit curd tarts.
Sablée
The richest of our three doughs the sablée is one of the most delicious and one of the most difficult crusts to work with. Sablée is reminiscent of a good shortbread, both in flavor and in its rough-on-the-tongue texture. Like the sucrée, it is a sweet dough and generally utilized for a lot of the same dishes. The method is also similar to the sucrée as it too uses the creaming method.
However, the end result could not be less similar. Sablée is named after the French verb “sabler” meaning to “make sandy” and its texture is truly a crumbly “sandy” product. The addition of almond flour in many sablée recipes undermines gluten formation even further and adds to that delicate texture, making sablée sometimes difficult to roll out. When lining a tart tin we actually suggest pressing the dough in, instead of rolling the dough and transferring it as you might with other doughs.
Great for: Fruit Tarts
Notes on Pastry
- The golden rule when making a pastry dough is “quick and cold.”Whether using your hands or a machine, work swiftly so the butter stays cold and the dough is not overworked.
- While sweet doughs take well to “blind baking” both the American and French savory doughs do not. If using either of these consider baking with a filling.
- Use cake flour for the sweet doughs sucrée and sablée, while all-purpose works well for the savory brisée dough in tarts or quiches.
- When you are planning on blind baking these empty and filling them later with custards or fruits, etc., brush the inside of the dough with egg white before you bake it. This will “seal” the shell, so to speak, which will slow down the process of the shell getting soggy and soft.
FAQs
What are the 3 types of pastry dough? ›
There are five main types of pastry dough for creating pastries: flaky, shortcrust, puff, choux and filo. All of them are made primarily from flour, water and fat.
What are the 3 types of dough used for pies & tarts? ›Brisée, Sucrée, & Sablée: The 3 Types of Pastry Dough You Need to Know.
What is the difference between pate brisee and pâte sucrée? ›Very similar to the paté brisée ingredient-wise, the sucrée differs slightly when it comes to method. Typically when making the sucrée you cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg and flour. What you get is a light, crisp dough.
What is the difference between Sablee and sucrée? ›Pate Sucree and Pate Sablee: The French oftenuse these two classic crusts for tarts. Pate sucree is light and crisp; pate sablee is richand crumbly (indeed, its name comes fromthe French word for "sand"). The former is alittle easier to roll out; the latter can bepressed into the pan with your fingertips.
What are the three 3 basic rules for pastry making? ›General rules
Use good quality flour. Mix together the flour and salt by sieving. Keep everything as cool as possible otherwise the fat may melt which would spoil the finished dish. Introduce as much air as possible during making.
(cooking) A form of shortcrust pastry made with butter instead of lard or shortening.
What are the 3 most common types of yeast dough? ›There are three main types of commercially produced baker's yeast: active dry, instant, and fresh.
What is the difference between pâte sucrée and shortcrust pastry? ›Shortcrust means that the fat content (butter in this recipe) is high, and the baked result will be flaky and crumbly. Pate sucrée in French translates to sweet dough. So this is an all-butter, sweet tart dough, with a much higher sugar content than the traditional flaky pie crust used in the US which is more neutral.
What is the 3 2 1 ratio in pâte brisée? ›For the Pâte Brisée, we mix flour, salt, sugar, butter, and ice water in a traditional 3:2:1 ratio: three parts flour, two parts fat, and one part liquid.
What is the difference between pâte brisée and puff pastry? ›In France this same dough is called pate brisee, which means broken - as in crumbly dough. Puff pastry is also a mixture of flour, fat and liquid, but the elements are deployed differently: First, you combine those three ingredients well into a smooth, supple dough.
Is pâte brisée the same as shortcrust pastry? ›
Pâte brisée is a type of shortcrust pastry, similar to pâte sablée (the classic crust with a “sandy” texture used in delicate fruit tarts), and pâte sucrée (a sweetened dough with added structure from the addition of egg).
What is sucrée made from? ›Pâte sucrée (French for “sugary dough”) is a type of French pastry dough made with egg yolks, butter, flour, and sugar. The flaky shortcrust pastry is typically used as a pie crust for fruit tarts and other sweet desserts.
What are three 3 characteristics of a high quality pastry? ›A good pastry is light and airy and fatty, but firm enough to support the weight of the filling. When making a shortcrust pastry, care must be taken to blend the fat and flour thoroughly before adding any liquid. This ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and less likely to develop gluten.
What are the 3 methods to combine pastry ingredients? ›Folding, beating, and stirring are three different methods for mixing ingredients when baking. Each one uses a different motion and a different tool, producing a different result.
What is French pastry dough called? ›Choux pastry, or pâte à choux (French: [pɑ. t‿a ʃu]), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. Basic ingredients usually only include butter, water, flour and eggs (auxiliary ingredients and flavorings are also added).
Is brick pastry the same as filo pastry? ›The initial cooking of brik pastry differentiates it from filo dough, to which it is commonly compared. Whilst just as thin, filo pastry is completely raw before cooking and less sturdy. Brik pastry has been cooked to some extent, so it doesn't break as easily and the layers are less likely to stick together.
Why pâte brisée is also known as Sablage? ›Pâte Sablée (pronounced "Paht Sa-Blay') means "Sandy Dough" in French. That name refers both to the pastry's texture that is lightly crumbly like sand, as well as the technique use to make it called "Sablage".
What are 3 types of yeast? ›And there are so many types of yeast: active dry yeast, instant yeast, rapid rise yeast, or, if you're a serious baker, fresh yeast.
What are three 3 total different shaping and preparation techniques used for yeast products? ›There are three different methods for mixing the ingredients for yeast breads: The Straight Dough Method, The Modified Straight Dough Method, and The Sponge Method.
What are the 2 types of pie dough? ›FLAKY OR MEALY AND TENDER
There are two types of textures to pie dough: flaky and mealy, always being tender, depending on how the fat is blended in with the flour and its temperature. When you moisten these crumbs with liquid, typically ice-water, they form a malleable dough.
What is a 3 tier pie? ›
The bottom tier is your turkey—turkey pot pie, to be precise. The next layer is your side dish: creamed kale with pancetta and walnuts, inspired by one of my favorite fall sides that regularly appears on my Thanksgiving table. Finally, the top layer is filled with cranberry sauce.
What is the difference between shortbread and shortcrust pastry? ›Shortbread pastry has sugar in it unlike shortcrust pastry which is a savory crust. If you like this recipe you will want to try our perfect graham cracker crust recipe.
Is there a difference between sweet and savoury shortcrust pastry? ›Shortcrust pastry has a crisp, crumbly texture and a buttery taste, which can either be kept as savoury or made sweet with the addition of sugar.
What are the different types of crusts? ›Earth's crust is divided into two types: oceanic crust and continental crust. The transition zone between these two types of crust is sometimes called the Conrad discontinuity. Silicates (mostly compounds made of silicon and oxygen) are the most abundant rocks and minerals in both oceanic and continental crust.
What is 3 2 1 dough used for what do the numbers stand for? ›The classic 3-2-1 Pie Crust, by Evan Kleiman: This is the first pie dough I learned to make. It's made up of 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat and 1 part liquid.
Which type of pastry has a fat to flour ratio of 3 4? ›Rough puff pastries: Proportion fat to flour 3:4 The entire amount of fat is rubbed in with the flour and kneaded to a soft dough. It is then rolled and folded three times without any fat.
What does 1 to 3 ratio mean? ›A proportion is an equation in which two ratios are set equal to each other. For example, if there is 1 boy and 3 girls you could write the ratio as: 1 : 3 (for every one boy there are 3 girls)
What are 2 major differences between Danish dough and puff pastry? ›There are two differences between Danish pastry and puff pastry. First of all Danish pastries contain a high level of fat: 40%. The second difference is that Danish dough contains yeast and that isn't the case for puff pastry.
What is shortcrust pastry called in the US? ›Shortcrust is popular all over the world for both sweet and savory pies. In the United States, however, it is usually called “pie dough” or some similar name.
What was the difference between puff pastry and shortcrust pastry? ›Puff pastry can generally be described as flaky, light and buttery, good for pies and pastries, while shortcrust pastry has a more crumbly, biscuit-like texture which is good for tart or quiche cases.
What are the different types of shortcrust pastry? ›
- Pâte brisée (for savory tarts and quiches)
- Pâte a foncer (used mostly for sweet tarts)
- Pâte sucrée.
- Pâte Sablée.
Type of fat in short crust pastry
The three most commonly used fats in short crust pastry are (clarified) butter, lard and shortening. They will all give a slightly different texture and structure to the final dough, it will also impact flavour.
Shortcrust pastry dough is a simple recipe used for pies, tarts, and quiche. It calls for just four ingredients—flour, fat, salt, and water—and the ratio of flour to fat is usually 4-to-1. Shortcrust pastry is easy to make and can be prepared either by hand or with a food processor.
What is a Spanish pastry called? ›Pestiños are deep-fried Spanish pastries popular in Andalusia and other regions of southern Spain. They're typically prepared for Christmas or Easter and are made with pieces of dough that are deep-fried in olive oil and then glazed in honey or sugar.
What are the different tart crusts? ›There are five main types of pastry dough for creating pastries: flaky, shortcrust, puff, choux and filo. All of them are made primarily from flour, water and fat.
What is the meaning of sucrée? ›Verb. sucré to sugar, to sweeten.
What are the 3 types of pie crust? ›Brisée, Sucrée, & Sablée: The 3 Types of Pastry Dough You Need to Know.
What are the 6 main types of pastry? ›The sheer amount of pastries available is impressive, but there are six main types of pastry. These are shortcrust, flaky, puff, filo, choux, and hot water crust.
What are the main 6 types of pastry? ›The sheer amount of pastries available is impressive, but there are six main types of pastry. These are shortcrust, flaky, puff, filo, choux, and hot water crust.
What is the most common type of pastry? ›Shortcrust pastry is the simplest and most common pastry. It is made with flour, fat, butter, salt, and water to bind the dough.
What is a 3 fold in pastry? ›
A letter-fold or triple-fold lays the butter towards one side of the dough, and the dough is folded in thirds, much like a letter is folded to fit into an envelope.
What is the most common type of dough? ›- Bread Dough. Bread dough is the most common dough that you may use to make bread! ...
- Sourdough. Sourdough from Switzerland has a really long history! ...
- Brioche Dough. Brioche dough will make the softest type of bread ever! ...
- Pizza Dough (Pizza Crust) ...
- Croissant Dough. ...
- Rich Dough.
The main ingredients used in pastry making are, flour, fat, water and a little salt.