Sweet Pastry Dough Recipes

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend together flour and butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Beat together yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and water with a fork and stir into flour with fork until combined well.
• Gently knead with floured hands in bowl until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead 4 or 5 times.
• Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Place 1 cup of the flour, the butter, sugar and salt, into a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process 10 seconds, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water and pulse 10 to 15 times, just until the mixture begins to come together (do not let it form a ball). Empty the dough out of the machine onto a floured work surface and gather together by pressing lightly. If the dough seems too sticky, gently incorporate more flour. Shape into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before proceeding with recipe.

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.

Steps:

• Add the flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter and toss to combine. With your fingers, begin to "smush" the butter into flat pieces. Continue smushing until all the butter is flattened but none of the pieces are larger than a quarter. The flour will look like coarse cornmeal.
• Add the water, quickly folding it in with a wooden spoon to distribute the moisture. (Do not stir vigorously--the dough should appear shaggy.) Use your hands to break up any large clumps of moisture. Then use your knuckles or a palm to smear the dough up the sides of the bowl (a technique known as fraisage). This distributes the butter over a larger surface to achieve larger flakes and compact the dough. Once you've gone around the bowl one time, fold the dough over itself a few times to pick up any dry bits from the bottom. Gently press the dough into a disk. (Note: The dough should remain very cool to the touch throughout the process. If it approaches room temperature, refrigerate it for 5 to 10 minutes to chill.)
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Perform a letter fold by folding one of the short ends towards the middle and the other short end over the first, like folding a business letter.
• Turn the dough 90 degrees, so the long side faces you, and perform a second letter fold. Turn the dough 90 degrees again; perform a third letter fold.
• If the dough still feels cool, it can be used immediately. Otherwise, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100 degrees F to 110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the yeast on top, then sprinkle with a pinch of the sugar; set aside, undisturbed, until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, the salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the center, then add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick and slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 6 minutes. Shape into a ball.
• Brush a large bowl with butter. Add the dough, turning to coat lightly with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly to release excess air; re-form into a ball and return to the bowl. Lightly butter a large piece of plastic wrap and lay it directly on the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Steps:

• Scald milk and stir in sugar, salt and shortening.
• Cool to lukewarm.
• Dissolve yeast in very warm water.
• Stir until dissolved, then stir into the lukewarm milk mixture.
• Add beaten eggs and 3 cups flour.
• Beat until smooth and stir in an additional 2 cups flour.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Place in a greased bowl and brush top with soft shortening.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until double in bulk (about 1 hour).
• Punch down and turn out onto lightly floured board.
• Use as desired to make any of the following sweet breads.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Crumb together by hand the butter in to the flour
• Add the sugar
• Mix in the egg and enough milk to form a soft dough - add flavour (opt)

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 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.
• On a lightly floured surface, carefully roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle and transfer the dough to a 10 1/2-inch tart pan, preferably black tin, with a removable bottom. With your fingertips, carefully press the pastry into the pan and up the side, trying not to stretch it. Trim the overhang, leaving about a one-inch edge. Tuck this overhang inside the pan, pressing gently against the side to create a sturdy, double-sided shell. If you build the pastry a bit higher than the height of the pan, you have less problem with shrinkage. Prick the bottom of the shell with the tines of a fork and chill for at least 20 minutes (or up to 24 hours, well wrapped).
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Line the shell loosely with heavy-duty foil, pressing well into the edges so the pastry does not shrink while baking. Fill with weights of rice or dried beans - making sure you get all the way into the edges - to prevent shrinkage.
• For a partially baked shell, bake just until the pastry begins to brown around the edges and seems firm enough to stand up by itself, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until it is thoroughly, lightly and evenly brown, about 10 more minutes. (For a fully baked shell, bake the pastry for 30 minutes after removing the foil and weights.)

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
• Toss butter through flour mixture to coat pieces. Using fingertips, rub fat into flour, working it until you have created a coarse meal with a few pea-size particles of fat.
• Empty crumbs onto a cool surface. Form mixture into a mound. Make a 4 to 5 inch well in center of the mound. Combine egg and vanilla and pour mixture into the well. Using a fork, draw crumbs into egg mixture, about 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time. When all crumbs are added, toss mixture a few times with a pastry blender to form large clumps, then scrape into a mound.
• Using the heel of your hand, push 2 - 3 tablespoons of the dough at a time, outward in 6 to 8 inch sweeps. This will blend fat and flour and give crust a delicate texture. If your hand becomes sticky, flour it as needed. Repeat process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into a mound again. Repeat procedure 2 more times.
• After third time, flour your hands. Gently knead the dough 5 or 6 times to make it smooth. Shape into a 5 inch disk. Dust disk lightly with flour, score with side of your hand, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes before shaping. DO NOT LET DOUGH BECOME TOO HARD or it will be difficult to roll. If this happens, let pastry soften at room temperature.
• Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. After dough has been rolled, position rolling pin 4 inches from top of the pastry. Lift dough over top of rolling pin and gently roll dough toward you. Lift pastry up. Make sure you keep a finger pressed against barrel of rolling pin to keep it from slipping. Position pastry, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of dough hanging over edge of pan on side closest to you. Then unroll pastry over an ungreased tart pan, moving pin away from you. Immediately lift overhang into pan to prevent sharp edge of the pan from cutting dough.
• Working a small portion of the dough at a time, mold it into crease of the pan. Trim excess pastry from top edge of pan. Chill pastry in refrigerator or freezer for up to 30 minutes. Tear an 18 inch square of tin foil. Make a buttered circle in center of foil 2 inches larger than size of pan. Place foil buttered side down, centering it into the baking pan. Using your hand, press foil flush against the sides.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Position shelf in lower third of oven. Fill pan with enough dried beans or baking nuggets to just cover surface of pan. DO NOT OVERFILL. Bake pastry shell on a shallow pan with sides. Bake crust 15 to 18 minutes or until sides begin to brown. Remove pan from the oven. Let stand about 30 seconds. Gently remove foil and beans. Reduce oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Continue to bake crust for 3 to 5 minutes or until it is golden. If bottom of pastry shell puffs up, tap it gently with bottom of a fork to expel the air. Do this carefully so the pastry crust doesn't break. When crust is done, cool completely before filling.

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, butter and water to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg and remaining flour; beat until smooth. Shape into a ball. Do not knead. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Use for Braided Coffee Cake or Coffee Cake Ring.

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.

Steps:

• Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes. In a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. In a small bowl or cup stir together yolk and ice water. Drizzle yolk mixture over flour mixture, stirring gently with a fork until incorporated, and gently form mixture into a ball. Turn mixture out onto a floured work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of hand smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and form it, rotating on work surface, into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour, and up to 1 day.

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.