Whole Wheat Pâte Brisée
Forget obsessing over pea-sized lumps with this classic French pastry dough.
This traditional French pastry crust calls for flavorful pastured or European-style butter and zero drama. You first mix the butter into half of the flour. Then add in the remaining flour and cold water to create a supple dough that is easy to handle. It plays well with any pie or tart you can dream up. And freezes well for many months.
Chef’s Tips
On buying flour. While organic is the goal (fewer pesticides) if you can afford it, look for unbleached flour.
On butter. Pastured butter, or butter made from cows that graze on grass, lends more flavor and color to baked goods. If dairy is an allergy, a plant-based alternative works just fine.
Use parchment to roll the dough out. Rolling out any dough between two pieces of parchment paper is much easier than on a counter or cutting board. Lightly flour the dough before rolling.
Avoiding the soggy bottom. To keep Paul Hollywood happy, avoid soggy bottoms on pastries and pies by placing a large pan in the oven when you turn it on. Then place your pie plate or baking sheet with the goodies on the hot pan to bake.
This recipe is adapted from the “Bouchon” cookbook by Thomas Keller, replacing a large portion of the standard all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour for a little added fiber.
For a traditional pâte brisée, use 12 ounces of unbleached all-purpose flour.
The Ingredients
8 ounces or 1½ cups of unbleached whole wheat flour
4 ounces or ½ cup of unbleached all-purpose flour
8 ounces or 2 sticks of unsalted, pastured butter
½ teaspoon of coarse or flake salt
¼ cup of very cold water
The Method
A food processor or stand mixer with a paddle eliminates the elbow grease of rubbing the butter in by hand. But without a machine, your fingertips work just as well.
Prepare your ingredients. Cut the butter into cubes and place it in the freezer. Weigh (or measure) the flour, sift it, then whisk in the salt. Place about a cup of the flour in your mixer, food processor, or a large bowl.
Add the butter slowly into the first half of the flour. With a stand mixer (paddle) on low speed, add the butter to the flour a few cubes at a time. Let each round of butter mix in completely before adding the next. In a food processor, add all of the butter at once and pulse the mixture until you don’t see any more lumps of butter.
Add the remaining flour and water. Add the remaining flour to the mixer or processor, and mix on low speed or pulse until all the flour is incorporated. Add the water and mix or pulse just until the dough is smooth.
Chill. Divide the dough in two and press each portion into a smaller version of the final shape you’ll need for your recipe (discs for pies, rectangles for turnovers, etc.). Wrap tightly in food wrap and chill or freeze until hard. The dough can be frozen for several months if wrapped airtight.
To roll. Allow the dough to soften by leaving it on the counter for a bit. You should be able to indent the dough easily with your fingertip, but it should still feel cold and fairly firm. Roll per the recipe instructions, but generally between ¼ and ⅛-inch thick for best results.
Bake at 350° F (180° C). Always par-bake crusts for any recipe that calls for a custard or filling that needs less time in the oven to cook. Fully blind bake (line the dough with foil and fill with dried beans) for cream pies where the filling cooks separately. Generally, pie crust takes around 45 minutes to an hour to fully cook in the oven and brown nicely.