Baking School In-Depth: French Tart Doughs
If you’ve ever sunk your fork into a perfect tart—one with clean edges, a crisp texture, and a just-sweet-enough bite—there’s a good chance it began with one of France’s three iconic shortcrust doughs. These doughs, each with its own texture, technique, and temperament, form the foundation of pâtisserie, bridging the worlds of sweet and savory with buttery finesse.
Join us for Baking School with Williams Sonoma on Monday, August 25, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT. Laura Crandall will be your guide through fat ratios, flour choices, and technique-driven baking. It’s not just about pastry—it’s about control, confidence, and turning simple dough into something truly special. Sign up here.
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KITCHEN CONFIDANTS
Pastry is about restraint—of ingredients, of movement, and, most of all, of temperature. Here’s what you’ll want at hand when working with pâte brisée, sablée, and sucrée.
TART AND PIE PANS: For these recipes, fluted tart pans with removable bottoms are essential. You want crisp, clean edges and easy release. Stick to light-colored metal pans, which conduct heat evenly and avoid the overbrowning that dark finishes can cause. Deep-dish for pie, standard 10-inch for tart. (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Goldtouch® Pro Tart Pan with Removable Bottom and Williams Sonoma Goldtouch® Pro Nonstick Pie Dish.)
PARING KNIFE: For trimming overhanging dough, a sharp paring knife gives you the control you need to follow the pan’s contours—clean, precise, and no dragging. (Pictured: Wüsthof Classic Paring Knife, 3½” in Black.)
FORK: Use a fork to dock the dough (i.e., prick it all over), preventing puffing, and to whisk eggs in a pinch.
PIE WEIGHTS: Blind-baking is the secret to a dry, crisp base that doesn’t buckle under a filling. Ceramic or metal weights work best. Fill the parchment paper-lined shell all the way to the rim for maximum support. (Pictured: Pie Weights Jar.)
MIXING BOWLS: Whether you’re cutting in butter for brisée or rubbing it into flour for sablée, wide, shallow bowls give you space to work without warming the dough. Choose glass to help control temperature. (Pictured: Glass Mixing Bowl 10-Piece Set.)
ROLLING PIN: A barrel-style rolling pin (with handles) gives you better sensitivity and control—ideal for the delicate, low-hydration doughs used here. You can even chill it beforehand if your kitchen runs warm. (Pictured: Patisserie Rolling Pin.)
SILICONE SPATULA: Flexible but firm, a silicone spatula is indispensable for folding, scraping, and spreading. Look for one that’s heatproof and one solid piece for easy cleaning. (Pictured: Get It Right Ultimate Spatula in Studio.)
WHISK: You’ll need this for pastry cream, custard bases, and even caramel. Look for one with thin, flexible wires that can get into the corners of your pan and keep things moving smoothly without overworking. (Pictured: GIR Get It Right Ultimate Whisk in Light Blue.)
PASTRY BLENDER: Essential for pâte brisée and pâte sablée, where butter is cut—not creamed—into the dry ingredients, a good pastry blender has sturdy blades and a comfortable grip, keeping your hands out of the bowl (and the dough cool). (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Olivewood Pastry Blender.)
INGREDIENT BREAKDOWN
The ingredients in pâte brisée, sablée, and sucrée may look deceptively similar, but how they’re manipulated determines everything.
ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR: Flour is the primary structure-builder—rich in starch and proteins (primarily glutenin and gliadin), which combine in the presence of water to form gluten. In pâte brisée, flour works with a touch of hydration to form a minimal gluten network—just enough for elasticity and cohesion, without sacrificing flakiness. You want the butter to interrupt gluten development, not encourage it. Overmixing activates too many gluten strands, resulting in a chewy crust rather than a crisp, tender one. In pâte sablée and sucrée, flour is treated with more caution. No water is added, and mixing is minimal, so gluten formation stays deliberately low. The fat coats the flour particles early, creating a shortened structure (hence “short” crust) where tenderness, not elasticity, is the goal.
UNSALTED BUTTER: Butter is both the flavor and the physics. Roughly 80% fat, 18% water, and 2% milk solids, it behaves differently based on temperature and incorporation method. In pâte brisée, cold butter is left in visible chunks and worked minimally into the flour. This creates steam pockets during baking as the water in the butter evaporates. The result? Flake, puff, and layers. In pâte sablée, butter is rubbed or cut into the flour until the texture resembles wet sand. This early fat dispersion inhibits gluten almost entirely, leading to a crumbly, meltaway finish. In pâte sucrée, softened butter is creamed with sugar to incorporate air. This builds a stable emulsion that gives the crust strength without elasticity—ideal for tart shells that need to stand tall and sharp. The creaming method also influences mouthfeel: slightly aerated, subtly crisp. Temperature control is critical. Too warm and the butter melts prematurely, eliminating layering potential. Too cold and it won’t incorporate properly.
CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR: Confectioners’ sugar isn’t just sweet—it’s structural. Its fine particle size helps it dissolve quickly, especially when creamed with butter. Used in sablée and sucrée, it absorbs some of the butter’s water content, limiting gluten formation. Its inclusion—especially in combination with low water and high fat—results in a tender, friable texture. The cornstarch often found in confectioners’ sugar (usually about 3%) contributes additional softness by absorbing excess moisture.
EGGS: Eggs are emulsifiers, binders, and strengtheners. The yolk is rich in lecithin, which binds fat and water into a smooth, stable emulsion. The proteins in both the yolk and the white help the dough hold shape in the oven, especially important in pâte sucrée, which needs to support heavier fillings. In pâte sablée, one whole egg is folded in to hydrate without introducing excess water. This results in a dough that binds without toughness. In sucrée, the egg emulsifies the creamed butter and sugar, improving consistency and mouthfeel. No egg is used in pâte brisée—that dough is intentionally lean, relying on cold water for hydration and structure.
ICE WATER: Ice water in pâte brisée keeps the butter cold while offering just enough hydration for the dough to come together. It’s not about incorporating water into the dough so much as coaxing cohesion with minimal gluten. Using too much water will develop too much gluten and result in a chewy, overworked crust. Using too little makes the dough dry and crumbly, difficult to roll, and prone to cracking. Precision here is key.
GRANULATED SUGAR: Granulated sugar shows up in small quantities in pâte brisée, where it serves a vital purpose. It aids in the Maillard reaction, providing color during baking through a reaction between sugar and amino acids, and flavor rounding. Lending just enough sweetness to counter flour’s raw edge without veering into dessert territory, its larger crystal size means it doesn’t fully dissolve during mixing, but that’s intentional—the crust isn’t meant to be sweet, just subtly balanced.
KOSHER SALT: Salt affects both flavor and protein behavior. It tightens gluten strands slightly, giving the dough more strength with less elasticity. In sweet doughs, it’s essential for rounding out sugar and butter. In savory doughs, it adds just enough sharpness to contrast richness. Crucially, salt delays gluten development slightly by competing for water, helping you maintain control over structure.
PÂTE BRISÉE (BROKEN DOUGH)
TEXTURE: Flaky and tender, plus a not-too sweet flavor
USE IT FOR: Savory quiches, double-crust pies, or rich, creamy fillings that need a neutral crust
This is the classic—cold butter, minimal handling, and just enough ice water to bring it all together. The butter stays in visible chunks, which puff and flake as they bake. It’s restrained in sweetness and sturdy in texture, making it the most versatile of the trio. Our Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie puts pâte brisée to delicious use. Imagine layers of chocolate and coconut-studded cream nestled into a flaky base and topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut.
Pâte Brisée
The most versatile of the French tart doughs, pâte brisée walks the line between sweet and savory with effortless grace. It’s built cold—very cold—with nothing more than flour, butter, a bit of salt and sugar, and just enough ice water to bring it all together. This dough relies on lamination principles, and those visible butter streaks make for a wonderfully flaky texture.Historically, this was the pastry of home cooks—rustic, unadorned, functional. But when handled right, it becomes something elegant and light, a quiet scaffolding for custards, cream pies, or whatever’s in season.
Ingredients
Instructions
PÂTE SABLÉE (SANDY DOUGH)
TEXTURE: Buttery, sandy, and ultra-tender on the tongue
USE IT FOR: Delicate fruit tarts, frangipane, or fillings that don’t require high bake times
Pâte sablée is closer to shortbread. Butter is cut into the dry ingredients—think sand between your fingers—before the egg binds it. Don’t knead; instead, press it just until it comes together. The result is a dough that crumbles gently under pressure and practically dissolves on your tongue.
Once blind-baked, it becomes a golden, sandy base—perfect for our fruit tart: vanilla-flecked pastry cream lightened with mascarpone, crowned with a mosaic of berries, and then lacquered with apricot glaze. It’s the kind of tart that whispers of Parisian summers and pâtisserie windows.
Pâte Sablée
Pâte sablée snaps under a knife and then melts like butter on your tongue. Its name comes from the French “sabler,” “to sand,” a nod to the texture you aim for when rubbing cold butter into the flour mixture by hand. This isn’t a dough to rush or overwork. Think shortbread, but with structural integrity. The magic here is in the low-gluten approach: no water, minimal mixing, and a delicate balance of sugar and fat—ideal for fruit tarts, where you want the crust to quietly elevate, not compete.
Ingredients
Instructions
PÂTE SUCRÉE (SWEET DOUGH)
TEXTURE: Crisp, clean, and cookie-like
USE IT FOR: Structured tarts that slice beautifully—such as caramel-nut or ganache-based showstoppers
Pâte sucrée starts with softened butter creamed with confectioners’ sugar and a pinch of salt—this aerates the mixture, giving the dough a lightness even after baking. The egg brings richness and emulsifies the fat, and flour is added at the end, just until incorporated. The dough needs chilling before rolling, and patience pays off—it’s easier to handle once the butter has firmed up again.
After blind-baking, it becomes a golden shell, slightly crumbly but crisp, a foil to luscious fillings, like in our Caramel-Macadamia Nut Tart, where the crust’s sweetness is amplified with a lush caramel, gently cooked to 240°F (116°C) before macadamias are folded in for crunch and creaminess in every bite.
Pâte Sucrée
Often mistaken for pâte sablée thanks to their similarly sandy textures, pâte sucrée is in fact the more structured of the two—less tender, more cooperative. It’s the dough you turn to when you want crisp, cookie-like walls that won’t slouch in a tart ring. The French pastry chef Pierre Hermé famously called it the dough “that stands up straight.” What sets it apart is the method: Sugar is creamed with butter first, building air and emulsification, before flour is folded in last. This reverse technique means gluten development is kept to a minimum—structure comes not from elasticity, but from fat, sugar, and a delicate bake.
Ingredients
Instructions
PÂTE BRISÉE
Built cold and handled minimally, this dough leans on lamination logic. Visible butter shards puff into layers that flake and fracture. The key? Restraint—just enough mixing, just enough water, and a chill that keeps the structure clean.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat flour, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined. Add cold butter, and beat at medium-low speed until mixture is crumbly. With mixer on medium-low speed, add 1⁄4 cup (60 grams) ice water, beating just until dough comes together.
Turn out dough, and shape into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. If refrigerating dough for longer than 30 minutes, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling out. Let frozen dough thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.
PÂTE SABLÉE
Butter is rubbed into flour to create a sandy, short texture—cut, not creamed, to keep things tender. No water, no gluten chains—just one egg to bind. Press, don’t knead, and you’ll be rewarded with a crust that snaps like a sablé cookie.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your hands, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in egg until combined.
Turn out dough, and press firmly with your hands until dough comes together and is fully hydrated, being careful not to knead too much. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. If refrigerating dough for longer than 30 minutes, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling out. Let frozen dough thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.
PÂTE SUCRÉE
The most refined of the trio. Softened butter is creamed with sugar for lightness and then flour is folded in just until combined. The result? A clean-lined and crisp-edged shell that slices like a dream and eats like a cookie.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt at medium speed until pale and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape paddle and bottom and sides of bowl.
Add egg, and beat until combined, stopping to scrape bottom and sides of bowl.
With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, beating until just combined and stopping to scrape paddle and bottom and sides of bowl.
Turn out dough, and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. If refrigerating dough for longer than 30 minutes, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling out. Let frozen dough thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.
BLIND BAKING
Each of our tarts and pie begins the same way: chilled dough, rolled, fitted into its pan, docked, and filled with parchment paper and weights. This step ensures the crust sets before the filling goes in—and helps avoid the dreaded soggy bottom. After the weights are removed, the crust bakes a little longer to dry out completely. Time and temperature are key here. Chill your dough again before baking and bake at a high heat (375°F/190°C is standard) to ensure the edges set rather than slouch. Golden edges and a dry base mean it’s ready to be filled.
RECIPES
Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie
This is what happens when a diner classic gets the Parisian treatment. We start with Pâte Brisée—untraditional, yes, but that flake cuts beautifully through the filling. The coconut custard is made with both coconut milk and flaked coconut for depth and texture and then swirled with semisweet chocolate for contrast. It’s layered, luscious, and just nostalgic enough.Historically, coconut cream pie became an American staple in the early 20th century, when canned coconut made its way into pantries via Caribbean trade. Here, we modernize it—less sweet, more chocolate, better crust.
Ingredients
Instructions
French Fruit Tart
The French fruit tart—tarte aux fruits—is pâtisserie’s love letter to seasonality and restraint. Built from Pâte Sablée, it’s a study in contrasts: crisp base, creamy filling, and a riot of glazed fruit.A bit of history: Glazed fruit tarts as we know them rose to popularity in 19th-century Paris, showcasing exotic imports as much as local offerings. Today, it’s all about balance—sweetness from the fruit, richness from the cream, structure from the base.Finish with an apricot glaze for the classic pâtisserie sheen.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Caramel-Macadamia Nut Tart
All crunch and gloss, this tart is a stunner—equal parts candy bar and pastry case showpiece. It starts with a crisp, cookie-like Pâte Sucrée shell that provides structure and contrast to the rich, buttery caramel filling. Toasted macadamia nuts add a luxe, creamy crunch, and a hint of salt keeps it from tipping too sweet. The filling is cooked just to firm-ball stage (240°F/116°C), so it slices cleanly without oozing, making this a dream tart for entertaining. Think of it as pecan pie’s sophisticated French cousin—just with better posture.
Ingredients
Instructions
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The post Baking School In-Depth: French Tart Doughs first appeared on Bake from Scratch.