Pear And Lemon Pie With Pate Brisee Crust Recipes

PATE BRISEE FOR PEAR AND TART-CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Make sure all your ingredients are thoroughly chilled before you begin. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl, and stir to combine.
• With a pastry blender or two knives, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture by pressing down quickly, using as few strokes as possible. You may leave a few pea-size pieces. Add 4 tablespoons water. Gather the dough and gently press into a ball. It should come together loosely; if not, add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Divide dough in half; place each on plastic wrap. Flatten into disks. Wrap tightly; refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.
• Remove disks from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, press rolling pin gently all over dough to flatten it slightly. Working from the center to the edge in all directions, roll out dough into a round about 3 inches larger than the pie plate.
• Wrap the dough around the rolling pin; lift and center it over the pie plate. Gently unroll the dough over the plate, leaving an even amount of overhang around the perimeter. Baking time depends on individual recipes.

PATE BRISEE (PIE DOUGH)

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
• With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

PEAR-AND-LEMON PIE WITH PATE BRISEE CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack in center and a large sheet of foil on rack below. In a large bowl, gently combine pears, sugar, lemon peel, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, and nutmeg.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch pie dish. Pour filling into pie shell; dot butter over top. Roll out second disk of dough to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Drape over filling. Trim overhang to 1 inch; press to seal, then tuck under and crimp. Brush top with beaten egg. Cut 5 leaf-shaped vents in top crust. Insert cinnamon stick in center as a stem. Freeze 30 minutes.
• Bake until crust is golden on bottom and juices are bubbling in center, 1 hour, 15 minutes to 1 hour, 30 minutes (if browning too quickly, tent top or edge with foil). Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 4 hours. Cut into slices to serve.