Making large numbers of tart/tartelette shells: How?

[Vojta]

Hi

So how do you make tartelette shells effectively in larger volumes?

 

When I make them it's a struggle. The dough is too soft and it's tearing. Making the shell out of 2 mm dough is impossible. After put in the freezer it becomes too hard and it breaks. The sweet spot between too warm and too cold lasts a minute only, meaning I am able to make 1-2 shells at most. And yes they have dimples and imperfections from me trying to fix them. And often they don't contract from the ring resulting in a destroyed shell upon removal.

 

I am curious how you are able to make like 100 pcs with reasonable time frame and without losing your nerves

Including a picture of what a perfection looks like to me and what I strive for:

 

 

Looking forward to discussing with you.

 

 

[Pete Fred]

Have you tried this technique? (I think somewhere else in his timeline there might be more detailed instructions, but this was the only one I bookmarked.)

 

And there are videos on YouTube; just search for ‘perfect tart shells’ or similar. 

[Vojta]

18 hours ago, Pete Fred said:

Have you tried this technique?

Thank you, Pete. 

Yes, I tried both methods: larger circle and circle & strip. I might need to search for another recipe or buy air conditioning. My dough stays in playdoh consistency, as in the videos, for less than a minute.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Vojta
made it shorter (log)

[pastrygirl]

roll your dough and cut the desired sized circles then keep them refrigerated and work from the fridge, forming a few tartlets at a time

[teonzo]

Seems like you are using a dough with high butter and your room temperature is too high. If your room is at 20°C then you have plenty of time to form shells.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Vojta]

12 hours ago, teonzo said:

 If your room is at 20°C then you have plenty of time to form shells.

Yes: actually, I asked Kriss about this video:

On 5/17/2021 at 6:17 PM, Pete Fred said:

this technique

and he replied that they have efficient employees and room with constant temp = 18 °C. Unfortunately a luxury I dont have, but this is a great tip:

12 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

roll your dough and cut the desired sized circles then keep them refrigerated and work from the fridge, forming a few tartlets at a time

I am going to try again this weekend. I will use the bigger circle method as it seems faster than bottom circle + side strip. I will also oil the rings better. Thank you.

 

[teonzo]

The bigger circle method is slower and gives more troubles in your conditions.

If you are forced to work in a hot room, then try this workflow:

- roll the dough (I hope you have a sheeter), trying to make a rectangle that covers a full pan (if you have a sheeter roll it as long as it comes out, then cut at pan lengths) and place the dough rectangle on a pan with a parchment sheet;

- cut the small circles using the tart rings, leaving each tart ring where it is on the pan, so place them where you want them to be when you will put the pan in the oven (meaning giving some distance from ring to ring);

- raise the leftover dough (the cuttings outside the rings, if you start from a corner then it should come up in a single piece);

- put the pan (pan + parchment sheet + rings with small dough circles inside) in the fridge;

- compact the leftover dough, give it a rectangle shape, put it in the refrigerator;

- roll again the leftover dough, cut it in small strips of the desired measures (the strips that are going inside the rings to form the sides), put them in the refrigerator;

- when the strips got cold enough (not hard not soft, they need to pliable) take a pan with the rings and the bases, take enough strips (as many as the rings), place them;

- put the pan in the refrigerator, repeat with another one;

- when all the pans are completed and the dough is at fridge temperature (hard) then bake them.

If you use this workflow then it should be pretty quick and you should be able to work one pan at a time.

You will have some dead zones here and there (waiting for the dough to chill), so organize yourself to have something else to make in the meantime (something that does not give timing troubles, like scaling ingredients for other recipes).

 

 

 

Teo

 

[pastrygirl]

You should not need to oil the rings, fat in the dough is usually enough. 

[Rajala]

So, I'm back making some tarts with all the nice berries now available. I have a problem with some tarts not releasing from the mould (almost sounds like I'm talking about chocolate here?). Am I overworking the dough? What can be the cause of this? Million things of course, but maybe there are things that are more common than others?

[Vojta]

Hi, Rajala. What kind of mould do you use? Tart ring/ mould and what material? Did you let the tarts cool before removing? Did you oiled the moulds? Did you chill the dough before baking (inside moulds)?

 

PS: about my 'problems': it was the temperature mostly. I also developed a method that should work in warm kitchen like my, but haven't a chance to test it yet.

[Rajala]

13 hours ago, Vojta said:

Hi, Rajala. What kind of mould do you use? Tart ring/ mould and what material? Did you let the tarts cool before removing? Did you oiled the moulds? Did you chill the dough before baking (inside moulds)?

 

PS: about my 'problems': it was the temperature mostly. I also developed a method that should work in warm kitchen like my, but haven't a chance to test it yet.

 

It's perforated metal rings from Pavoni. No oil/butter on the tart rings and the dough has been frozen for easy cutting. Sometimes I can lift the tart ring straight up, like they just shrunk a bit while baking. But the ones I tried today just were stuck on the ring itself. I just want to get a consistence result - need to figure out what I'm doing right/wrong.

[Vojta]

I would oil the mould, should be enough. If that is not enough, I would try one of these: Chill or freeze the dough after it's inside the rings, so it enters the oven chilled. Wait until the tarts are completely cool before removing them from rings. The last two are my suggestions, unfortunately I don't know what causes the desired shrinking of the tarts. Let me know if it works.

[Rajala]

They're chilled already. Sorry for being unclear.

 

The only thing would then be to line the rings with butter or something else. But everyone claims that shouldn't be needed. I will try to work the dough less next time. I think that might be the problem.

[Vojta]

I was taught using cooking oil spray with silikomart plastic rings, so I use it everytime. Might be the case, happy experimenting!

[Rajala]

20 minutes ago, Vojta said:

I was taught using cooking oil spray with silikomart plastic rings, so I use it everytime. Might be the case, happy experimenting!

 

I'll try that with the next batch!

[JohnT]

@Rajala, if I may ask, as I am a bit confused regarding this thread, what pastry recipe are you using that is giving you so many problems?

[Rajala]

On 8/7/2021 at 2:16 PM, JohnT said:

@Rajala, if I may ask, as I am a bit confused regarding this thread, what pastry recipe are you using that is giving you so many problems?

 

It's just a regular recipe for pate sablee. That can mean anything of course, haha. Nothing crazy, but I'll write it down when I can.