Tarting it up

Last week the question of pear pie came up. While in theory pear pie can be done, I think pears have a happier home in tarts. Pies and tarts are similar but the subtle differences produce different results. For openers both pastries contain the usual suspects - Flour, sugar, butter (fat), salt, water and sometime egg. Both pastries are rich in fat but it is how the butter is incorporated into the dough that makes a difference. With pies, the butter is ‘cut’ into the flour, small pieces of fat are kept in tact and coated with flour – when the butter melts in the hot oven, it carries the flour on its back creating 100s of little layers AKA, flaky goodness.

For tart dough, the butter is creamed together with the flour and sugar. The creaming method is probably more familiar as the cookie dough method: Everything is blended together making a smooth, homogenous dough when making/baking cookies.

Tart dough can take all sorts of different forms but a popular and versatile tart pastry is Pate Sucree or sugar dough. An apt name, the pastry contains way more sugar than pie dough and way is a scientific measure. Sugar is import here because it is hygroscopic - collecting water from its environment. Drawing moisture away from the flour, the presence of sugar inhibits the growth of gluten. This produces tender pie dough.

Flaky/Tender are thought of as synonyms but they aren’t really the same thing – Flaky is visible strata, airy, toothsome with a good chew. Tender is crumbly under the pressure of a fork, melt in the mouth quality – A good tart crust is tender.

Just as seemingly small differences in the combination of ingredients can create dramatically different results, the same is true for the choice of pan. Pies are baked in round, usually 9-inch wide dishes. These pie plates/tins/pans are made of glass, ceramic or metal. Pie pans are usually 11/2 inches deep (Deep-dish pie pans run 2-3 inches deep).

Most recipes for tarts call for an 11-inch wide pan. Tart pans are largely (&affordably) made of metal, although ceramic is a popular medium and the bendy, silicone forms are gaining traction in the market. Tart pans aren’t restricted to the circle. Square and rectangle are popular shaped tart pans. You’ll never see a deep-dish tart pan – the sides are ½, ¾ or 1 inch deed and scalloped. The scallop shape helps strengthen the sides of the pastry.

The ratio of sugar in the tart pastry helps draw sugar away from the flour helping prevent soggy crusts. The larger surface area found in tart pans helps evaporate excess moisture. For a fruit with a high moisture content like a pear, how cool is that? It even gets better, tart dough – pate sucree is very forgiving - Not good with a rolling pin? You can piece and patch together the dough in the pan.

With Thanksgiving coming up, apple, pecan, pumpkin and sweet potato will be well represented in the pies. A pear tart, elegant, seasonal, different yet familiar – How cool would you be if you made one? (Pretty cool). Next week’s Saucyman will walk you through with 3 recipes to build your Thanksgiving tart: Explaining poached pears, filling and pate sucree as the week rolls on.