Rolling (out) the Dough

I didn't have a post planned for today, but on Friday I had to run out and pick up a couple of baking sheets and a sil'pat. Have you ever used a sil'pat? It's a miracle in the oven. Sil'pat provides a nonstick surface without having to spray or flour- that means you don't have to add a THING to your baking sheet and yet (!) your cookies will slide right off with no hassle.

As I picked up my sil'pat, I spotted a roll'pat (Roul'pat) on the shelf.

What's a roll'pat?! I wondered the same thing, so I asked.

It's the same technology as a silpat, but made to be a rolling surface. In the pate brisee post, I briefly mentioned that I like to roll out dough on my butcher block slab. True. I love that it's a large surface that's not a part of my actual counter top, but rolling on butcher block requires a lot of flour. Even rolling on a natural stone surface, like granite or marble, is going to take some flour to keep your lighter doughs from sticking. And extra flour can change your dough. Baking is a science, it IS chemistry actually, and the ratios of flour to fat to leavening agents (if any) matters.

I love trying new gadgets, and I BELIEVE in the POWER of the sil'pat, so I threw the roll'pat in my basket and brought it home. On Saturday I had a chance to try it out when I needed to roll pate brisee for an apple pie I was planning to bring to my sister in law's house on Sunday.

You guys, this thing is amazing. My roll'pat is 25 1/4" x 17 1/2" and provides a GENEROUS rolling surface. It's so flexible that once I rolled out the top of the pie, I picked up the entire mat and stuck it in the fridge to chill the dough while I filled the pie. and the dough peeled off the sheet with absolutely no trouble.

I'm a big fan.

If you want to pick up a roll'pat, you can find it here, otherwise known as the happiest place on earth.

(In case you're wondering, any product recommendations I do are based on personal experience and are not sponsored. Basically, if I really like something, I want to tell people about it. Simple as that.)

Pate Brisee

Pie Crust.

Fresh pie crust is roughly a million percent more delicious than store bought frozen pie crust, and it's pretty easy. And if you make your own pie crust then you can tell people you made your own delicious pie crust and they WILL be impressed.

There are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when you're making your own pate brisee, but mostly you just need to remember COLD. Ice cold. The colder the butter, the flakier the crust. Try not to work your dough too much- the more you work a dough, the more active the gluten becomes and the stretchier and tougher your dough will become. If you feel like your dough is becoming too stretchy or gooey, put it down and walk away. Let it rest. If you need to work the dough with your hands, you can dip them in ice water to keep them cold. Let your dough chill in the fridge if you can before rolling it out.

Think light, flaky, cold. Pie crust that melts in your mouth, not pie crust that is chewy. Right? Right.

Having a good solid surface to roll out your dough is key. A stone (granite, marble) counter top is perfect. We have butcher block counters in our kitchen, and I prefer to use an additional surface when I roll out dough because butcher block can stain. When our builders installed our butcher block, they turned the cut out piece from our range into a huge block for me, this is what I use for rolling out dough. You can also find stone slabs at kitchen supply shops (Williams-Sonoma has one here)- stone is great because it stays cool.

Some people like to use shortening in their pie crust, but I prefer straight up butter. To me the flavor is richer, the crust is lighter. Generally, when I'm making a pate brisee, I use a Martha Stewart recipe. It's a good one, and until I stumble across something better, I'm going to be loyal to Martha's. Her recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt


• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces


• 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1. Pulse flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter, cut into small pieces, and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.
   


2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream until dough just holds together without being wet or sticky, no longer than 30 seconds.
   


3. Divide dough in half; flatten and shape into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
   

Martha Stewart also has a wonderful tip sheet for successful pie crust, which you can find here.

Source: Martha Stewart, Pate Brisee