Putting the tart together: Pre heat oven to 200c or 190c if fan forcedĬut the fruit and add to a bowl with the sugar or maple syrup and cornstarch and toss through gently. Flatten the ball, wrap and chill long enough to take the softness of the butter – at least one hour – you will get the best results from well chilled pastry. Once all the mix looks moist, bring it together into a ball, DO NOT KNEAD OR PLAY WITH IT. By cutting the wet dough into the dry bits, you avoid using too much water (another reason for tough pastry). As you continue to add the water, little bit by little bit, you are cutting the wet bits into the dry bits, cutting, mixing and stirring. The idea is to add a small amount of water, begin to cut and mix it in with the knife. Add the vanilla to 2 tablespoons water and add this water first. Also, the higher the percentage of wholemeal flour, the more water needed. This is the step most people need to keep practicing – you will never use the same amount of water twice – it depends on the freshness of the flour, the humidity, the temperature and if any of your butter has melted. Using a bread and butter knife, begin to mix the cold water into the flour and butter. Don’t be tempted to add the water to the food processor, it is too easy to overwork the pastry. If using a food processor, pulse a few times, or until ready and turn out into a bowl. The chunks do need to be small, but it is quite okay if some of them are a little smaller than a kidney bean. Using your fingers, or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it is incorporated into the flour, but still quite chunky. Why don’t you give it a go this weekend ? The beautiful photos you see here are by Harriet Harcourt. As it cooks, butter should sizzle around the base of the tart. Remember, very cold pastry goes into a very hot oven. When rolling, make sure your pastry is cold – if it starts to soften and the butter smears, do not, I repeat do not just keep adding more flour – pop it on a tray lined with baking paper, back into the fridge so it chills up a little, then take it out and go again. This will only help develop gluten, which will make it tough. Don’t play with it (there, I’ve said that again), and don’t keep mixing it once you’ve added the water. The entire aim is to not overwork the butter into the flour, and the heat from your hands melt it. You can do it, it’s easier than you think, I promise you. You just need to know the rules for shortcrust pastry world… namely, keep everything cold, and try to touch and play with it as little as possible. You may need to add just a touch more water for wheat. If you live in the United States, and would prefer to use wheat I would use a pastry wheat flour, and it will approximately weigh the same (see recipe). I prefer to make this with spelt, I love the flavour and crumb that spelt imparts, and it’s just a little more digestible and more easily tolerated than wheat. I like to use a sweet shortcrust for this, but you could also buy a good quality one like the Careme brand, available from all good supermarkets and specialist food stores throughout Australia. The Rustic Tart – it’s a glorious dessert really, just lots of fruit and a little bit of pastry.
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