Herbes De Provence Pastry Crust

Herbes de Provence Pastry Crust

1 cup/148g plain/all purpose flour

½ cup/74g whole wheat flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

5oz/127g butter, cold in small pieces

2-4 tablespoons water, ice cold

In a bowl of a food processor, add the flours, the salt, the herbs, and the cheese and whiz till well blended.

Add the cubed, chilled butter and pulse, till the butter is cut uniformly into the flour and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 

Add the 2 tablespoons of water and pulse again. If the mixture looks too dry and does not hold together when pinched together, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured board and gently bring the mixture into a smooth ball. Don’t knead too hard but enough to get a blended ball of dough. 

Flatten the ball into a disc, to make it easier for rolling, cover with cling wrap

and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

If the dough was made before hand, remove the dough from the fridge and let it soften a little before rolling, about 15 minutes.

If at any time the dough becomes too soft and hard to handle, put back into the fridge to cool.

Note: Alternatively, you can blend well with a whisk or spatula. Cut the butter into the flour by hand or 2 knives and use a spatula to bring the mixture together when you add the water.

You can use any combination of spices and cheeses in the pastry.

This savoury crust works really well for quiches and tarts of all kinds.

This crust is used in the Mushroom Tart.