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Learn how to make a savory tart dough (for a galette, crostata, or rustic tart) and fill it with all your wildest dreams/excess vegetables.
Why we love this recipe & why it works
A rustic tart has so much to recommend it. A little bit elegant, a little bit comforting, and a whole lot functional, it’s just as good as pasta at helping clean out the fridge — but it feels so much more special.
This savory tart dough is:
- Buttery and flavorful
- Tender and flaky, yet sturdy enough to work with
- Simple and easy, with just four ingredients
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly
I first published this recipe here in 2018. I’ve since updated the post for clarity, but the recipe remains the same.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe. It’s not much!
- I like to use a combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour, which is tender and light but also full of nutty, nuanced flavor (and a little bit more nutritive value, to boot). You can use the full amount of all-purpose flour if you’d rather.
- Use a really good-quality salted butter if you can. Here and virtually everywhere, I start with a cultured butter from grass-fed cows. This sounds fancy but doesn’t have to be. Kerrygold, for example, is sold in most supermarkets at a reasonable price. Whatever you use, keep it nice and cold. If using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt to the mix.
- Beyond that, all you need is ice water. The amount will vary a bit depending on environmental conditions. You’ll use just enough to make the dough come together without crumbling.
Recommended equipment
You can make pastry dough with your hands if that’s what you’ve got, but I really like to use my food processor to keep things quick, easy, and cold.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make savory tart dough. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- First you’ll dice the cold butter and add it to the food processor along with the flours. Pulse until most of the mixture looks like coarse sand, but there are still some pea-sized pieces of butter.
- Pour in two tablespoons of water and pulse a few times more. If the dough comes together when you pinch it between your fingers, you’re all set. If not, pulse in a little more water.
- Form dough into a disc shape without working it too much. Wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Remove dough from fridge and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Flour lightly and roll out between sheets of parchment. That’s it — savory tart dough is ready to fill and bake!
Expert tips and FAQs
Not flaky? For the flakiest crust, don’t over-mix the dough, either in the food processor or by hand. Quit while you’re ahead and there are still some pea-sized pieces of butter in the mix. As long as the dough holds together when you pinch it, you’re good.
Too crumbly? It could’ve used a little more water, and perhaps a tiny bit more mixing.
A little tough? You probably added a little bit too much water, which caused you to have to overmix it.
The key to making successful tart dough lies mostly in the bravery. But cold butter, ice water, and a light touch don’t hurt.
Yes! You can prepare the dough, wrap it well, and store it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to a year before proceeding. If freezing, thaw in the fridge overnight before using. Roll out the dough, fill it, and bake your rustic tart right before serving.
Favorite ways to use it
Here are some helpful resources on how to fill and bake your savory tart dough. Here’s the summary: However you fill it, brush with egg wash and bake on a parchment-lined half sheet pan in the center of a 400°F oven for about 40 minutes.
- Savory galette (a recipe and a formula)
- Savory spring tart with asparagus and burrata
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Savory Tart Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (120 grams) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 16 tablespoons (224 grams) cold salted butter, diced
- 2 to 4 tablespoons 30 to (60 ml) ice water
Instructions
- Place the flours into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade.
- Add the cold diced butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand with some larger pea-sized pieces.
- Add two tablespoons of the ice water and process for a moment.
- Test to see if the dough holds together when you squeeze a bit with your hand. If not, add the remaining water and process again.
- Use your hands to quickly form the dough into a ball. Then flatten into a disk between two approximately 14-inch square pieces of parchment paper.
- Wrap in the parchment followed by a gallon-sized zip-top bag, and refrigerate for at least an hour (up to a week) before proceeding.
- Remove dough from fridge about 20 minutes before you want to roll it out. Usually it's fine to pull the dough from the fridge when you start to gather the ingredients for your tart filling.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour on each side of the dough and then replace the parchment. Using a rolling pin and turning the dough a quarter-turn clockwise every so often, roll the dough out between the parchment into a 14-inch circle (which should be about the same size as the parchment sheets themselves.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment and slide the dough (still on the bottom sheet of parchment) onto a pizza pan or baking sheet.
Notes
- I like to use a combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour, which is tender and light but also full of nutty, nuanced flavor (and a little bit more nutritive value, to boot). You can use the full amount of all-purpose flour if you'd rather.
- Use a really good-quality salted butter if you can. Here and virtually everywhere, I start with a cultured butter from grass-fed cows. This sounds fancy but doesn't have to be. Kerrygold, for example, is sold in most supermarkets at a reasonable price. Whatever you use, keep it nice and cold. If using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt to the mix.
- You can prepare the dough, wrap it well, and store it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to a year before proceeding. If freezing, thaw in the fridge overnight before using. Roll out the dough, fill it, and bake your rustic tart right before serving.
- Please refer to this post for more information about filling and baking, but the summary is that after filling, you'll brush the crust with egg wash and bake the tart in the center of a 400°F oven for about 40 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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