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French · IV The Method

Fonçage: lining a tart ring

France, classical pâtisserie

‹ The Method

I

Origin

Fonçage is the operation of lining a mould or ring with a rolled dough, and it belongs to the classical French pâtisserie kitchen, where the tart shell is a foundation on which creams, fruit and custards are built. The technique is carried today by the professional schools and their manuals, FERRANDI Paris among them, which teach it as a fixed sequence of rolling, lifting, settling and trimming. It is applied to pâte brisée, pâte sucrée and pâte sablée alike, and it precedes the blind baking or the filling.

II

Description

Fonçage is the lining of a bottomless tart ring, set on a lined baking sheet, with a sheet of rested dough rolled to an even thickness of about 2 to 3 mm. The dough is lifted over the rolling pin, laid over the ring, and pressed into the angle where the base meets the wall without stretching it. The excess is cut flush with the rim, and the shell is chilled before baking so that the fat firms and the gluten relaxes. A ring gives straight, clean walls; a tart tin with a fluted edge calls for the same gesture but a different finish.

III

The Thread

—Both line a vessel with a rolled short dough, chill it and bake it empty so that it holds a wet filling. The American pie dish has sloping sides and the crust is crimped over the rim, whereas the French ring gives a vertical wall cut flush. American
—German short pastry is rolled and pressed into a springform or tart tin with the same care to avoid stretching, and chilled before baking. The German base is often thicker and sturdier, built to carry heavy cakes and fruit, where the French shell is thinner and crisper. German
—The Italian crostata shell is made from pasta frolla, rolled, laid into a tin and trimmed, resting on the same principle of a cold, relaxed short dough. Pasta frolla is often enriched with more sugar and egg and is frequently pressed in by hand, while French fonçage favours a rolled sheet lifted whole. Italian
IV

Flavour Context

A lined and baked shell is filled with crème pâtissière and fruit, lemon cream, frangipane, chocolate ganache or a savoury custard as in a quiche. A sweet wine such as a Sauternes or a Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise accompanies the fruit and cream tarts, and a dry sparkling wine or a crisp white suits the savoury ones. The reason is structural: the crisp, buttery shell provides a dry counterpoint to a soft filling, and the acidity or sweetness of the wine meets the fat of the pastry.

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