Best Sweet Pastry Dough Recipes

PATE BRISEE (FLAKY SWEET PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• Place one cup of flour, the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Add the water and slowly pulse just until the pastry begins to hold together, about six to eight times. Do not let it form a ball. Turn the pastry out onto waxed paper and flatten the dough into a circle. If the dough is excessively sticky, sprinkle it with several tablespoons of flour. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH FOR CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add yolk and ice water, and process until dough just comes together. (It should not take longer than 30 seconds.)
• Shape into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine flour and sugar; pulse to mix. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles a fine meal.
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks and cream; add to butter mixture. Pulse until dough just comes together.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dip the heel of your hand in flour; working with small sections, smear dough away from you to blend it together. When dough has been all smeared out, use a bench scraper to gather it together. Divide dough in half; gently knead each half to gather into a ball. Flatten into discs and cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix flour, salt and sugar.
• Cut in butter until crumbly.
• Mix beaten egg yolks,ice water and vanilla together.
• Mix into flour mixture until pastry just holds together.
• Knead in plastic wrap until smooth.
• Flatten; chill 1 hour.
• To partially blind bake: Set oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake 15 to20 minutes, weighing pastry down with a layer of foil and dried beans.

EASY SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt (if using) into a bowl.
• Toss butter into flour mixture to coat pieces. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour, working it until you have created a coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces.
• In a small bowl, combine egg and vanilla. Whisk together, then add gradually to flour mixture, stirring with a fork. Mix with hands until dough forms a ball.
• Knead the dough to make it smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Roll out dough and shape to pie pan or cut out rounds for tarts.

GLUTEN-FREE MULTI-PURPOSE SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Pulse oat flour, gluten-free flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse just until they form pea-sized pieces. Whisk together egg and vanilla in a small bowl. With the machine running, add egg mixture to flour mixture and process until the dough just begins to hold together, about 10 seconds.
• Turn out mixture onto a work surface and push together to form a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine, then divide dough in half and flatten into 2 disks with smooth edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• To make cookies (Makes about 2 dozen):
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Dust your work surface and rolling pin generously with all-purpose gluten-free flour. Remove 1 dough disk from the refrigerator and roll out into a round about 1/8" thick. If dough becomes too soft to roll out, cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm. Cut out as many cookies as possible from with cutters and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart (scraps can be rerolled as many times as you like).
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer sheet pans to wire racks to cool completely. (If re-using baking sheets to bake multiples batches of cookies, let sheets cool completely between batches.)
• To Make Pie or Tart Crust (Makes enough for one double-crust pie, two single-crust pies, or two 9-inch tarts):
• Dust a large piece of parchment paper and your rolling pin with all-purpose gluten-free flour. Remove one dough disk from the refrigerator and roll out on parchment into a 1/8" thick round, gently reshaping and rotating the dough as you go to make sure it's not sticking, and adding more GF flour underneath as needed. If dough becomes too soft or sticky, slide dough-covered parchment onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Invert a 9" pie plate over rolled out dough, gently slide your hand under parchment paper, and re-invert. Remove parchment paper, then fit dough into pie plate and crimp edges as desired. Chill in freezer 10 minutes, then bake according to your pie or tart recipe.
• To Make Bar Cookies (Makes two 8" baking dishes):
• Roll or press out dough according to your bar cookie recipe and bake according to instructions.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator overnight before using.

PASTA FROLLA--ITALIAN SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and zest.
• Cut in the butter, until it resembles coarse meal.
• Add the egg and the vanilla and toss the mixture until incorporated.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly, forming into a disk.
• Chill, wrapped in plastic at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Let the dough stand at room temperature until softened, but still firm enough to roll out.

PATE SUCREE (SWEET PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• A note on ingredients: If you do not have Cake Flour, you can make some. For every cup of Cake Flour needed, scale out 120g (1 cup) of All Purpose Flour and substitute 15g (2 tablespoons) of All Purpose Flour with 15g (2 tablespoons) of Corn Starch. Sift the mixture so that the All Purpose Flour and Corn Starch are evenly distributed. The Corn Starch lowers the protein content of the mix and makes for a more tender dough. To yield 75g (1.5x) Eggs, crack two large Eggs into a bowl, beat them gently with a fork to combine the yolks and the whites, and scale out the 75g.
• Place the room temperature Butter and Powdered Sugar in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the ingredients until they are completely smooth.
• With the mixture on medium speed, slowly add the eggs. Continue mixing until the ingredients are once again completely smooth and homogeneous. At this point, a properly mixed dough should have the appearance of mayonnaise.
• Chef's Note: As with the Butter, room temperature Eggs are best. Adding cold Eggs or adding all of the Eggs at once may cause the dough to "break" (i.e. the dough will appear curdled as the Butter & Sugar float in the Eggs).
• Add the Cake Flour in two additions and mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined, but do not over-mix.
• Chef's Note: The final dough should have a smooth, shiny appearance. There should be no visible sports of unmixed Flour or Butter.
• Rest the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
• Storage: The dough can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or frozen for several months. The dough should be tempered but still chilled before rolling.
• Bake times for Pate Sucree will vary by recipe and filling. Bake an unfilled 8"/9" tart shell at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) for approximately 25 - 30 minutes or until it is lightly browned throughout.

RICH SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and blend or pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolks and, if blending by hand, stir until mixture forms a dough. If using a food processor pulse until mixture forms large clumps and with hands form mixture into a dough.
• On a work surface smear dough in 3 or 4 forward motions with heel of hand to slightly develop gluten in flour and make dough easier to work with. Form dough into a ball and flatten to form a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Beat together yolk and water with a fork and stir into flour mixture until combined well.
• Gently knead mixture in bowl with floured hands just until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 4 or 5 times more. Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

GLUTEN-FREE MULTI-PURPOSE SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Preparation Pulse oat flour, gluten-free flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse just until they form pea-sized pieces. Whisk together egg and vanilla in a small bowl. With the machine running, add egg mixture to flour mixture and process until the dough just begins to hold together, about 10 seconds.
• Turn out mixture onto a work surface and push together to form a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine, then divide dough in half and flatten into 2 disks with smooth edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• To make cookies (Makes about 2 dozen): Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Dust your work surface and rolling pin generously with all-purpose gluten-free flour. Remove 1 dough disk from the refrigerator and roll out into a round about 1/8" thick. If dough becomes too soft to roll out, cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm. Cut out as many cookies as possible from with cutters and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart (scraps can be rerolled as many times as you like).
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer sheet pans to wire racks to cool completely. (If re-using baking sheets to bake multiples batches of cookies, let sheets cool completely between batches.)
• To Make Pie or Tart Crust (Makes enough for one double-crust pie, two single-crust pies, or two 9-inch tarts): Dust a large piece of parchment paper and your rolling pin with all-purpose gluten-free flour. Remove one dough disk from the refrigerator and roll out on parchment into a 1/8" thick round, gently reshaping and rotating the dough as you go to make sure it's not sticking, and adding more GF flour underneath as needed. If dough becomes too soft or sticky, slide dough-covered parchment onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Invert a 9" pie plate over rolled out dough, gently slide your hand under parchment paper, and re-invert. Remove parchment paper, then fit dough into pie plate and crimp edges as desired. Chill in freezer 10 minutes, then bake according to your pie or tart recipe.
• To Make Bar Cookies (Makes two 8" baking dishes): Roll or press out dough according to your bar cookie recipe and bake according to instructions.
• Do Ahead Dough can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator overnight before using.
• Cooks' NoteIf desired, sprinkle tops of unbaked cookies with granulated or decorating sugar, dust with your favorite sweet spices, or leave plain and decorate after baking. Pies made with this dough are best served the day they're baked.

RICH SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• 1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Add chilled butter mix until it looks like corn meal. Add egg yolk, and mix until well blended. Add ice water a drop at a time until a ball forms.
• 2. Turn pastry out onto wax paper and knead lightly. Wrap dough and refrigerate 2 hours. Roll out and use as desired. Bake to recipe specifications for whatever you are making with the dough.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Stir together egg yolk and 1 1/2 tablespoons water and drizzle evenly over butter mixture. Gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon ice water, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat.
• Gather all dough into a ball, with a pastry scraper if you have one, then flatten into a disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH FOR TURNOVERS

Steps:

• 1. Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor bowl and pulse 6 to 8 times to blend. Add the butter and process until crumbly, 10 to 15 seconds. 2. In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and the water. Add to the flour mixture all at once, and process until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the processor and divide in half for easier handling and form into 2 discs. Dust each lightly with flour. The dough is ready to use. Cover and refrigerate while making the filling. If not using right away, cover with plastic and refrigerate up to 3 days.From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine the flour, sugar and salt.
• Cut in the butter a little, then add the shortening, work into a paste, to create a crumb, keeping the mixture light.
• Whisk together the egg, vinegar, vanilla and water.
• Work the mixture to a dough, use an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment if desired, I work it with a spoon, until it isn't wet, then use my hands to moisten the crumbs, with the cohesive dough, at the bottom of the bowl.
• Remove the dough, it should not be crumbly, shake it over the bowl, if there are any crumbs left, set the pastry aside, add a few drops of water to the remaining mix, gather together, and add to the whole.
• Rub both sides of the dough in flour before putting into a zip top bag, to chill for at least an hour before using the rest of the flour, for rolling and baking the dough.