Pâte brisée is a type of

shortcrust pastry Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie. ...

. It is an unsweetened pastry used for raised pies with meat fillings and savory

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

filled quiches like

Quiche Lorraine Quiche Lorraine is a savoury French tart with a filling of cream, eggs, and bacon or ham, in an open pastry case. It was little known outside the French region of Lorraine until the mid-20th century. As its popularity spread, nationally and inter ...

Etymology

The name "pâte brisée" translates to "broken pastry" in English, which refers to the crumbly or mealy texture of the dough.

History

Pâte brisée is, according to the French-American Cultural Foundation, a classic of French pastry. The pastry has a long and storied history in

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

, dating back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The concept of using

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

and

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

to create a pastry dough can be traced back to ancient civilizations, but it was the French who refined and popularized the technique. The

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish (food), dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main r ...

for pâte brisée is believed to have evolved from a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

pastry called a "coffin" or "coffyn," which was a sturdy, vessel-like pastry used to encase and cook various fillings.

Ingredients, preparation and variations

Pâte brisée is made with flour, cold or softened butter, eggs, salt, and icewater. Pate brisée should be flaky and sturdy, rather than crumbly. According to the '' Traite de Patisserie Moderne'', if sugar is added the dough is called pâte sucrée. According to Marie-Antoine Carême pâte brisée was made by rubbing in the butter and folding the dough several times by hand on a pastry board. According to Carême, pâte brisée is "used particularly for gateaux des rois". Marie-Antoine Carêmebr>The royal Parisian pastrycook and confectioner
1834 p.9

Usage

Common savory applications include quiches.

Etymology

History

Ingredients, preparation and variations

Usage

See also

References

Further reading