Pâte Brisée Riche (Rich Pie Crust)

The other day I was flipping through one of my cookbooks, trying to plan ahead and, after all this recent holiday excess, looking for some inspiration for a simple Sunday dinner, when I found myself thinking about how I've come so far with my cooking lately. I'm more adventurous, more confident, and much better at executing a recipe than ever before. I've learned to be more patient, and to trust the process of cooking better, and while I still like to experiment and alter recipes, I do a little less of that these days because I'm keener on having less disastrous outcomes, much preferring the more edible ones. This past year, with regards to what I do in the kitchen, and well, with everything in my life really, I have learned much and have a lot to be proud of. I continued to flip through the book, and began to realize that for all my improvement in the kitchen though, I still don't really have a good grasp of the foundations of cooking, or, rather, the "Mother Recipes."

You know what I mean right? Those master recipes that form the jumping off point for which countless other dishes can be combined with or made from? I think sauces fall into this category; certain ones can be considered "Master," like, Béarnaise, Hollandaise, and Béchamel, and from these sauces come other secondary sauces. So, if sauces have "mother" recipes to which all other sauces come from, then, the same can be said of cake recipes and pie crusts too, no? Heck, there are probably countless other recipes, none of which I can think of right now that have "mother" recipes and "master" techniques too, some of which I've probably already used here in my kitchen but was not fully aware that I had. My goal is to be more aware of that from now on.

Wouldn’t it be great to whip up a brunch for friends on a Sunday afternoon and not have to schlep out 3 or 4 cookbooks just to figure out how to make Hollandaise sauce for Eggs Benedict? I love the thought of just casually whipping up egg yolks while carrying on a witty conversation with my guests, entertaining them with humorous anecdotes, holding them captive with my charming personality, fine conversation skills and my enviable ability to cook complicated things without fuss and bother or planning ahead. Some would secretly envy me, but most would admire me, marveling at the ease with which I do things, wondering at how I keep my cute little coordinating outfits splatter free and never seeming to get even one hair out of place no matter how vigorously I whip, slice, dice, chop... hee hee, never mind.

I've never been one to make New Years resolutions, but for this coming year, I think I'd like to set a goal and try to teach myself the "how-to’s". I think the best way for me to go about this is by doing, and so I think I will. Chronicling my experiences here in my journal will help keep me on track, point out any areas for improvement and hopefully, will be fun for you to read, as I actually try mastering the “mothers”.

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The picture above is my first attempt at Pâte Brisée Riche. I'm using it later on this evening in another recipe from the same cookbook so I'll report back on how it turned out. I do have to point out that, normally I only use large eggs for cooking and eating, but due to a late night mishap on Christmas Eve, in which I dropped the last three eggs for a recipe on the floor and had to run frantically through my neighborhood searching for someplace that was open and selling eggs, (thank you all-night Korean deli even though you only sold colossal sized eggs) I used an extra large egg yolk with this recipe.

from The Baker's Bible edited by Edith Gray

Pâte Brisée Riche (Rich Pie Crust)

Richer than basic pie crust, this is excellent for fruit tarts and special occasion pies.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tbsp iced water

makes an 8 0z quantity

This is actually a spin off recipe from the Master recipe for a Pâte Brisée. The master recipe doesn't use the egg yolk as a binder and is also known to call for sugar added to the dough depending on what the final use is for.

1. Into a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, and sugar if using. Sprinkle the pieces of butter and margerine, or shortening over the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives scissor-fashion, (I used my fingers) cut in the fat until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Do not over-work, as this causes a tough crust.

2. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the water over the flour crumb mixture and toss lightly with a fork. (Remember that you are making Pâte Brisée Riche so use the yolk/water mixture you prepared earlier.) Gather the parts of the pastry that have bound together to one side of the bowl. Add a little more water to any dry crumbs and toss again. (I ended up adding 3 MORE tablespoons of cold water)

3. Gather the pastry into a rough ball and turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Lightly press the pastry into a disc shape and flatten slightly. Wrap the pastry tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Written by Deb on December 28, 2003 03:30 PM