Use water or milk in a tart crust?
I'm making a toffee apple tart that has a shortbread pastry as its crust, and the author of the recipe says you can use milk or water in the crust. Which would be better? Or do they each have their own strengths and weaknesses?
Best Answer
They are technically two different pastries. Shortcrust pastry made with water is called pâte a foncer, 'lining pastry'. Shortcrust pastry made with milk is called pâte brisée. Pâte brisée typically contains a bit more butter, and is generally lighter and flakier than pâte a foncer, which is conversely crisper and firmer.
So it's up to you really; both are very similar. The pâte brisée is more delicate, so if you have a 'heavy' filling, say, lots of fruits, it might be better to go with the foncer.
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Can you use milk instead of water for pie crust?
The more fat you've got in your crust, the better it will taste and the better its texture. We use European-style cultured butter with a butterfat content of at least 83 percent. We also use whole milk instead of water\u2014another way to inject more fat into the crust, and a key ingredient for getting it super flaky.Can you use milk instead of water in shortcrust pastry?
At its most basic a short-crust pastry is just flour and fat mixed with water. However, the water can be substituted with milk or beaten egg, you can use either/or lard and butter for the fats, and other ingredients like sugar or salt can flavour the pastry.What does milk do to pastry dough?
The milk adds a little more fat and makes rolling out the dough much simpler.Why is my tart crust so hard?
If the dough is overworked, the tart crust could come out tough and it could also shrink a lot as it bakes. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour in the fridge, just to stiffen it up a little and make it easier to roll out.Homemade Melktert – South African Homemade Milk Tart / Tarte de Leite Caseira da África do Sul
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