Lemon Tart Part 1: Pastry

We had some beautiful weather (25 degrees!) this weekend so we decided to have a barbeque and I decided to make a lemon tart. Every time I make a pie I swear I will never again make it from scratch but sure enough, two months later, I'm rolling out dough swearing under my breath.

I was smart this time, I made the pastry 3 days prior and froze it (which believe it or not is actually good for pastry dough). Pie Pastry was one of the more interesting skills I learned in my cooking classes, and while I am actually pretty good at it, I have a minor aneurysm every time I make it.

This is a classic recipe. The results are very light, very buttery, very flakey. The thing about pastry is that you don't want to overwork it. If it gets warm, gluten strands can start to form which makes it all rubbery and bad. So, while you are working it, keep your hands floured at all times and make sure everything is cold when you start: your butter, your bowl, the water, even the room if possible. If at anytime it starts to warm up, just pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes and come back to it when it has cooled.

There are a ton of various tart pastry recipes but I use a really basic one.

Pastry Dough
Adapted from Epicurious

1 stick cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes. I like to freeze them for a couple minutes so they are really cold.

Flour your hands. Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips until  mixture resembles coarse meal. There can be a few pea-sized lumps. I find blending works best by keeping your hands covered in the flour and rubbing through the butter. Make sure it stays cold, though. And if it starts to heat up, thow it in the fridge.

Pour in 2 tablespoons ice water and mix in with your hands (don't overwork it!). Continue to add ice water until the dough can hold together without crumbling apart.

Turn out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour. You can also freeze it at this point, just be sure to defrost it overnight in the fridge.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface, starting from the center. It should be thin (1/8" to 1/4") and even all thoughout.

Brush off any excess flour and transfer dough to greased tart pan. (Make transferring easy by rolling the dough lightly around your floured rolling pin and un rolling it over the pan).

Shape the dough into the pan and trim off any excess. Using a fork, prick your dough all over to avoid big bubbles. 

Finally, I like to par-bake pie shells before adding the filling to achieve a nice solid crust. To do this, I fit the shell with parchment paper and then fill it, carefully, with dried beans (this also keeps it from fluffing up). Then bake it for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.