Author: joepastry

Brisée, Sucrée, Sablée

Reader Brendan also writes:

Also, a quick definition request. Sablée, brisée and sucrée. I understand the basic concept but they are so interchangeable between different sources i’m finding it hard to nail down the exact terms.

Sure thing, Brendan! Think of pâte brisée as your standard savory tart crust. It’s roughly analogous to American pie crust, though the French don’t worry about “rubbing in” butter in the same way we do. They usually make theirs with a mixer as they favor a much more even distribution of fat through the dough. Sometimes they’ll even go so far as to add egg yolk (at which point it’s known as pâte à foncer). Either way, the end result is a crust that is both finer of crumb and stronger than American pie crust, but that lacks a pie crust’s flakiness.

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On a Related Note…

Reader Brendan writes:

For…tart dough, is it possible to overcream the butter and sugar mix before you add the flour in? And if it is possible, what would the ramifications be?

Hey Brendan! Over-creaming isn’t generally a concern. I once saw a butter and sugar mixture creamed for so long that it eventually turned a slight grey. That tint wasn’t a result of anything that happened to the mixture, rather it was caused by metal dust (sugar granules can actually sand down the inside of your bowl after a while). Otherwise the only risk of extended creaming is that friction will lead to heat buildup and melting.

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On the Limits of European Butter

Reader Lars writes:

I do a lot of baking and I was wondering if you would be willing to impart some wisdom to me. I tend to prefer the higher fat European butters. What I was wondering is how much adjustment in my baking recipes need to be made for these extra fat butters?

Interesting question, Lars! Would you believe that on average American and European butters only differ in fat content by two or three percentage points? Given that, you don’t need to vary your formulas at all (moisture isn’t an issue). They are a little more acidic since the cream they contain is slightly fermented, but not enough to throw off chemical leavening reactions.

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Flatbread Science

Many experienced chapati makers have observed that I’m fiddling with tradition here. It’s true. Indeed I am varying the flours and the liquids in order to get to a softer, more toothsome homemade product. Don’t infer from that statement that I don’t think traditional recipes give good results, but ingredients and…ehem…the manipulators of those ingredients, vary highly from place to place. I should be using atta, traditional Indian chapati flour, but I can get any. As a result the all-whole wheat flour and all-water recipes weren’t delivering bread anywhere near as good as I remember from the real Indian meals I’ve had.

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Is this the life or what?

God love this internet thingamajig. I set out to make potica, and Slovenian grandmothers offer me recipes. I announce I’m making naan, and bakers from India weigh in with tips and advice. Has a baker ever lived that’s as blessed and lucky as I am? I think not! Thanks to all the readers and contributors […]

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Where’s the History, Joe?

It’s not easy with flatbreads, reader Clay! They are humanity’s oldest form of bread. Indeed flatbreads pre-date wheat! Thirty thousand years ago, flatbreads were made from mixtures of foraged plant and grass seeds, pounded or ground, mixed with water and cooked on flat, hot stones. That basic technique endured for tens of thousands of years, up through the dawn of the age of agriculture, when hunter-gatherers started to settle down on farms and grow large quantities of single crops.

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