Name: Rustic Apple Tart
Cuisine: 洋食
Ingredients: 150g cake flour (or bread flour); 75g cold salted butter; 60ml water; 1 apple; 2 tbsp sugar; Butter (for topping), to taste

About "Rustic Apple Tart"

This simple rustic apple tart is made with just four ingredients—flour, butter, water, and apples—without requiring any special tools like a tart pan or rolling pin. The crust is a savory pastry known as pâte brisée in French or shortcrust pastry in English. Because it contains no sugar or egg yolks, the natural sweet and tart flavors of the apple truly shine. The key to making the dough is coating the flour with butter to inhibit gluten development, and using an empty bottle to roll it out in one direction for a uniform thickness. It features a charming, rustic hand-folded edge and is baked slowly at 170°C (340°F) for one hour.

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Tips for Making "Rustic Apple Tart"

Dough Prep
- Use cold butter and mix it quickly with the flour so it doesn't melt from your hands. Coating the flour with butter repels the water added later, preventing gluten and ensuring a flaky crust.
Dough Prep
- Mash the butter into the flour with a fork, then rub it with your hands until it resembles fine breadcrumbs under 1mm in diameter.
Dough Prep
- Drizzle the water in rather than adding it all at once. Fold from the bottom to bring it together, wrap in plastic, and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Rolling Dough
- Sandwich the dough between parchment paper and roll it out using an empty wine bottle instead of a rolling pin.
Rolling Dough
- Always roll in one direction (front to back). Rolling back and forth creates gluten and causes shrinkage; instead, roll once, rotate 90 degrees, and repeat.
Rolling Dough
- Roll the dough into a circle until it is about 3mm thick (roughly the thickness of three stacked coins).
Apple Prep
- Wash the apple with the skin on, cut it into four chunks avoiding the core, and then slice them thinly.
Shaping
- Arrange the sliced apples in an overlapping circular pattern from the center. Tuck the final slice under the first one for a beautiful finish.
Shaping
- Once the apples are arranged, lift the edges of the dough with a knife or bench scraper and fold them inward.
Seasoning
- Sprinkle 2 tbsp of sugar evenly over the apples. The sugar melts into a syrup during baking, preventing the apples from drying out.
Seasoning
- Dot with small pieces of butter to add a beautiful glaze and rich depth of flavor upon baking.
Baking
- Start preheating the oven to 170°C (340°F) when you begin arranging the apples. Bake slowly at 170°C (340°F) for 1 hour.

Ingredients for "Rustic Apple Tart"

6 items

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150gcake flour (or bread flour)
75gcold salted butter
60mlwater
1apple
2tbsp sugar
Butter(for topping), to taste

How to Make "Rustic Apple Tart"

1
Cut 75g of cold salted butter into small pieces and add to 150g of cake flour.
2
Mash the butter into the flour using a fork, then quickly rub the mixture together with your hands until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (with butter pieces under 1mm in diameter).
3
Drizzle in 60ml of water, gently fold from the bottom to combine, and bring the dough together.
4
Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
5
Sandwich the dough between sheets of parchment paper and roll it out in one direction using an empty wine bottle or similar tool. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll in one direction again; repeat this process to roll it into a circle about 3mm thick and 20cm in diameter.
6
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
7
Wash the apple with the skin on, cut it into four chunks avoiding the core, and then slice them thinly.
8
Arrange the sliced apples in a circular pattern starting from the center of the tart dough, overlapping them slightly. Tuck the end of the circle under the first slice, and fill any remaining gaps in the center with the leftover slices.
9
Lift the edges of the dough using a knife or bench scraper and fold them inward.
10
Sprinkle 2 tbsp of sugar evenly over the apples, and dot with small pieces of butter to taste.
11
Transfer the tart along with the parchment paper to a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven at 170°C (340°F) for 1 hour.
12
Once baked to a beautiful golden brown, remove from the oven. Serving with vanilla ice cream is highly recommended.

Detailed Commentary on "Rustic Apple Tart"

* Content organized by topics from the video.

No Pan or Rolling Pin Needed! Easy Apple Tart

Baking can often feel like it has a high barrier to entry, but this rustic apple tart is designed to lower that barrier as much as possible. While tarts typically require a dedicated tart pan, this recipe can be made completely without one. Furthermore, you don't even need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. This recipe uses a simple ratio of 150g cake flour, 75g butter, and 60ml water. While using bread flour yields a crunchy texture, cake flour creates a tender, flaky crust. By keeping the dough simple and savory without adding sugar or egg yolks (known as pâte brisée in French or shortcrust pastry in English), we create a rustic flavor profile that highlights the natural sweetness and tang of the apples.

Inhibiting Gluten for a Flaky Crust

The key to making a delicious tart crust is inhibiting the development of gluten, which occurs when water is added to flour. Gluten gives dough elasticity, but it can cause the crust to shrink and become tough when baked. To prevent this, start by cutting 75g of cold salted butter into small pieces and adding them to the flour. The trick is to work quickly so the butter doesn't melt from your body heat. Use a fork to mash the butter into the flour, then quickly rub it together with your hands until it reaches a fine 'breadcrumb' state with pieces under 1mm in diameter. Coating the flour with the fat of the butter repels the water added later, preventing gluten from forming. Drizzle in 60ml of water all at once rather than pouring it in one spot, fold from the bottom to bring it together, wrap in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Tips for Rolling Dough Evenly with a Bottle

After resting in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, the moisture will have distributed evenly through the dough, making it easy to roll out. Sandwich this dough between sheets of parchment paper and roll it out using an empty wine bottle instead of a rolling pin. The most important tip here is to roll in 'one direction'—from the front to the back. Rolling back and forth over the same spot repeatedly develops gluten and causes the dough to shrink. By rolling once, rotating the dough 90 degrees, and rolling in one direction again, you can roll it to a uniform thickness without it shrinking. Once you have rolled it into a circle about 3mm thick (roughly the thickness of three stacked coins), your tart dough is ready. This free-form shaping without a pan allows you to achieve a beautiful finish even without specialized tools.

Slicing and Arranging Apples with Skin On

Once the dough is ready, it's time to prep the star of the show: one apple. Around this time, go ahead and start preheating your oven to 170°C (340°F). Wash the apple thoroughly so you can use it with the skin on. Cut the apple into four chunks, slicing around the central core. Once the core is removed, carefully slice the chunks thinly starting from the edge. Arrange the sliced apples on the rolled-out dough in a circular pattern starting from the center, overlapping them slightly. There is no strict rule for how to arrange them, so feel free to overlap them at whatever interval you like. For a beautiful finish, tuck the end of the circular arrangement under the very first apple slice you laid down. Finally, use any remaining slices to fill in the gap in the center.

Rustic Shaping and Baking Without a Pan

After arranging the apples, lift the edges of the tart dough using a knife or bench scraper and fold them inward. Folding the dough by hand without a pan gives this tart its charming, slightly irregular, rustic warmth. Once shaped, sprinkle 2 tbsp of sugar evenly over the apples. This sugar melts into a syrup during baking, which prevents the apples from drying out. Next, dot the top with small pieces of butter to taste. Adding butter creates a beautiful glaze when baked, helps the apples cook evenly, and adds a rich depth of flavor that makes the apples even more delicious. Transfer the tart to a baking sheet and bake slowly in the preheated oven at 170°C (340°F) for 1 hour.

The Joy of Baking and Recipe Variations

When you pull it out of the oven, you are greeted with a beautifully golden, rustic apple tart. Slicing into it produces a satisfying crunch, letting you know just how flaky the crust is. Tasting it reveals that because the dough itself is simple and unsweetened, the natural sweet-tartness and juiciness of the apple take center stage, making it incredibly delicious. This tart is highly recommended served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, creating an exquisite dessert with a contrast of hot and cold. While we used the basic 'shortcrust pastry' technique here, this dough works wonderfully with other seasonal fruits like apricots or peaches. I hope you enjoy making your own rustic tarts with your favorite fruits!

About 樋口直哉の料理論[Cooking theory]

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