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Crostata: Italian Tart Pastry

Step 1 of 6 ·
Serves 4

Ingredients

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Method

  1. 1
    Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the cold butter pieces and work them into the flour with the fingertips, moving quickly to prevent the butter from warming. Continue until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, with fat particles evenly distributed through the flour. No loose flour should remain visible.
  2. 2
    Add the egg yolks and the cold milk or white wine. Bring the dough together with the hands, pressing rather than kneading, until a coherent mass forms. Stop as soon as the dough holds — overworking develops gluten and destroys the characteristic crumbly texture. This is where the dish lives or dies: the dough must come together without warmth or pressure enough to melt the butter or strengthen the gluten.
  3. 3
    Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it, and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes. The butter firms and any gluten that has formed relaxes. The dough is ready when it is cold and firm but yields slightly under thumb pressure without cracking.
  4. 4
    Divide the dough: roughly two-thirds for the base, one-third reserved for the lattice. Roll the larger portion on a lightly floured surface and line a tart tin. Spread the jam filling evenly across the base, leaving a small border clear at the edge.
  5. 5
    Roll the reserved dough and cut it into strips. Lay the strips across the filling in a lattice pattern, pressing the ends against the tart rim to seal. The strips should be evenly spaced so that the filling is visible in regular windows.
  6. 6
    Bake until the lattice is golden and the jam in the exposed windows has thickened and shows the faint caramelisation at its edges. The pastry should be firm and dry to the touch at the rim; the filling should not bubble actively.
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HACCP Brief — Codex Alimentarius CXC 1-1969 Crostata: Italian Tart Pastry
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