Italian Pie Crust (pasta frolla recipe) with video

I use this pie crust recipe a lot. So much so, that I decided it deserved its own post.

It's similar to other sweet dough recipes, like my favorite sweet shortcrust pastry. But there are details that make it unique.

Some call it crostata dough and galette crust as it's an excellent base for those desserts.

You have already seen it around this blog in the very popular Lemon Ricotta Pie and the Fig Tart (that also features my mom's homemade fig jam!).

This Italian recipe for sweet dough is so versatile that it's also found in savory dishes, like the savory ricotta pie.

Ingredient list

They are few and your usual suspects. Use the best quality ingredients you can afford, especially butter, as it will affect the flavor.

• Unsalted butter.
• Granulated sugar.
• Eggs. Fresh, large, grade A whenever possible. The extra egg yolk makes it wonderfully rich and more crunchy.
• Flour. All-purpose flour always works well, and cake flour for a softer, finer dough.
• Salt: I use kosher salt for my baking, but table salt also works. 
• Baking powder. Make sure it's active. It's an unexpected ingredient that gives it a kind of spongy, sugar cookie texture. That's why I love it for crostatas. You can omit it and you have a rich sweet pie crust.

Tips for making sweet pie dough:

• Butter, have it cold and in pieces. This is very important so it mixes a bit with the flour but is not completely incorporated into it. Some pieces of butter the size of peas should remain to ensure flakiness when baked. I use a food processor for this part, but you can easily make it in a bowl with a dough cutter or use your hands, always being careful not to overwork the butter and heating it up too much (due to warm hands). If that happens, return the bowl as is to the fridge for 10 minutes, and then continue.
• Don't overwork the dough after adding the flour. This is a critical step if you want a tender, light dough. Once the flour is added, don't overwork it, it doesn't need to be kneaded. It needs to be mixed until there are no visible streaks of flour.
• Always let it rest in the fridge before rolling it. This step is absolutely essential. Even if you didn't work it much when assembling it, the dough will have developed some gluten (great for bread for example but not for doughs), so it needs to relax in the cold refrigerator before it is rolled. Otherwise, it will be difficult to stretch and too elastic, making it shrink as it bakes and be tough.

How to make pasta frolla

In the food processor:

I like making this sweet Italian crust in the processor because it's easy and fast.

• You put the dry ingredients and add the cold butter cubes (image 1, above).
• Process until the butter pieces are the size of peas or small beans, though it will be irregular and add egg and yolk (image 2).
• Pulse with on/off just until it starts to come together. Don't overprocess the dough, this is key so that it doesn't end up being tough after it's baked. It doesn't need to become a ball, just a crumbly mass (image 3).
• You know it's ready when you grab some of it, squeeze it in your palm and it comes together without crumbling (image 4).
• Dump the crumbly mess onto a clean counter and follow steps 5 to 8 in the videos below 👇🏻

Pie dough by hand:

I also love making it from scratch with my hands. It's like going to flour therapy.

Step-by-step VIDEO

Resting the dough

Refrigerating: as with most crusts (there are exceptions like the Cherry Tart), pie doughs need to be refrigerated before using them. This is because they need to relax in order to be able to be rolled out properly, without them shrinking.
- Wrap it well and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

Rolling: always roll cold doughs. Even if you think it's too cold and needs to be at room temperature until it becomes pliable, check it often while you're waiting for it to be ready. Start rolling it as cold as you can. It will soften quickly and you don't want the butter to start softening too much because it will make the final crust tougher. We don't want that.

Storing

Refrigerating: after you make the dough ball, wrap it well and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. Make sure no part of the dough is left unwrapped as it will dry out. I wrap it in double plastic or in a freezer paper and then in a Ziploc bag.

Freezing: follow the same wrapping procedure as for the refrigerator. Make sure you label and date it. It can be frozen for about two months.