Michel Roux’s Pâte sucrée (Sweet dough)

Pate sucrée contains a higher proportion of sugar and butter, and this makes it delicate and crumbly on the palate. In Professional kitchens, type 45 flour (pastry flour) is generally used to make this dough although type 55 (bread flour) my be used for a less fragile dough. The pastry is best eaten soon after it’s cooked.

If you have left overs put it in a dry airtight container for a few days. This pastry is excellent for fruit tarts and can also be used for cheese cake base. Once baked, the pastry shell is quite firm and hard and easy to handle.

Pâte Sucrée is more steady than the more crumbly Pâte Sablée because it contains less butter in proportion to flour.

Heap the flour onto the counter and make a well in the centre.

Put the butter, sugar, and salt into the well. Mix the butter sugar and salt with your fingertips.

Gradually draw the flour into the centre and mix with your fingertips until the dough becomes slightly grainy.

Again, make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Work them into the flour mixture using your fingertips

until the dough begins to hold together.

Knead the dough 4-5 times with the palm of your hands until smooth.

Form the dough into a disk and wrap with cling film. It will be a soft almost sticky dough. Rest the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours or until it firms up before using.

To use, roll the dough to 1/16-1/8 inch (2-3mm) thickness.

Pâte Sucrée

Difficulty: easy
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Preparation time: 15 minutes; Makes: about 1Ib 3oz; 520g

Ingredients

275g (2 cups + 2 tablespoons, 9.7 oz) all-purpose flour
100g (3.5 oz, 6½ tablespoons) butter, cubed and slightly softened
100g (3.5oz, 3/4 cup) confectioners (icing) sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
2 medium eggs at room temperature (**you must use medium eggs)

Instructions

Heap the flour onto the counter and make a well in the centre. Put the butter, sugar, and salt into the well. Mix the butter sugar and salt with your fingertips.
Gradually draw the flour into the centre and mix with your fingertips until the dough becomes slightly grainy.
Again, make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Work them into the flour mixture using your fingertips until the dough begins to hold together.
Knead the dough 4-5 times with the palm of your hands until smooth. Form the dough into a disk and wrap with cling film. It will be a soft but firm dough (not sticky).
Rest the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours or until it firms up before using.
Roll the dough to 1/16-1/8 inch (2-3mm) thickness.

Important Points to Note

Original recipe called for 250g flour but 275g worked better for me. For this recipe you will achieve better results if you weigh ingredients.
This recipe absolutely requires medium eggs (50g (1.7oz) or crack eggs, beat and weigh 90g of egg.
For cup measures: spoon the flour into the cup, heaping it up over the top, then slide a knife across the top to level off the extra. Be careful not to shake or tap the cup to settle down the flour or you will have more than you need. I use a 240ml, American cup.

Egg Sizes Minimum weight per egg in the shell

Jumbo 70 g (2.5oz)
Extra Large 63 g (2.2oz)
Large 56 g (2 oz)
Medium 49 g (1.7oz)

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Own notes: the shell weighs about 7g. Most medium eggs without shell weigh about 44-45g