Three pastry doughs cover pies, tarts and cream puffs. Each gets its texture from a different method.
Key idea
Pie dough (pâte brisée): the classic 3-2-1 ratio by weight: 3 parts flour, 2 parts cold fat, 1 part ice water, plus salt. Cut the fat in until pea-sized, add water just until it holds, rest cold. Sweet tart dough (pâte sucrée): butter and sugar creamed, egg added, then flour: crisp and cookie-like. Choux paste (pâte à choux): water or milk, butter and salt brought to a boil, flour stirred in and cooked into a ball, then eggs beaten in one at a time; it puffs in a hot oven into hollow shells for éclairs and cream puffs.
Why it works
In pie dough, flat pieces of cold fat melt in the oven and leave flakes; minimal mixing keeps gluten low so the crust is tender. In choux, steam from the eggs and water puffs the shell, and the cooked starch and egg set it hollow.
Worked example: 3-2-1
How much fat and water for 450 g of flour in 3-2-1 pie dough?
- One part is $450 \div 3 = 150$ g.
- Fat: 2 parts = 300 g. Water: 1 part = 150 g.
Answer: 300 g fat and 150 g water.
Common mistake
Overworking pie dough, or adding too much water. It shrinks in the pan and bakes tough.
Practice at home
- Make 3-2-1 pie dough with all butter, rest it overnight, and blind-bake a shell with pie weights.
- Make a small batch of choux and bake half; fill the puffs with whipped cream.
In Meal Prep
- Butter pie crust: the full recipe
- Pears Belle-Hélène: a classic plated dessert