How to seal a terrine or casserole dish
The French have a term for it: "luter", which means to seal around the lid of a cooking dish with dough.
The dough forms a crust and hermetically seals in all the steam and flavours while the dish is cooking in the oven.
This is a good way to concentrate flavours. The dish is brought to the table sealed and the crust broken open in front of diners so that everyone can share the delicious smells as they are released at that fleeting moment.
It is possible to use ordinary bread dough, but an unleavened (or "dead") dough, with neither natural leaven nor yeast will work better.
The dough forms a crust and hermetically seals in all the steam and flavours while the dish is cooking in the oven.
This is a good way to concentrate flavours. The dish is brought to the table sealed and the crust broken open in front of diners so that everyone can share the delicious smells as they are released at that fleeting moment.
It is possible to use ordinary bread dough, but an unleavened (or "dead") dough, with neither natural leaven nor yeast will work better.
212 K 3.7/5 (90 reviews)
35 min.
Easy
1.10 €
350 g
5 IngredientsLast modified on: January 11th 2017
For 350 g, you will need:
- 1
250 g flour - 2
100 g water - 3
5 g fine (or table) salt - 4
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence (optional) - 5
25 g beaten egg (optional) - Total weight: 355 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Resting: 20 min.
All in all: 35 min.
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Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 3 min.
Prepare the dough
Put into a food-mixer bowl: 250 g flour, 100 g water, 5 g fine (or table) salt and 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence (see more about this below).Stage 2 - ⌛ 3 min.
Knead until the dough begins to hold together.
For sealing, there is no need to work the dough any more than this.
For sealing, there is no need to work the dough any more than this.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 20 min.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
This dough can easily be made the day before using, or even several days in advance and frozen.
This dough can easily be made the day before using, or even several days in advance and frozen.
Stage 4
Sealing the dish
Roll the dough into a long "sausage" 1/2 to 1 inch (1 or 2 cm) thick.Stage 5
The roll needs to be long enough to go all the way round the lid of your dish.
Stage 6
Fill the dish with whatever you are going to cook: meat, vegetables, fish, etc. The dish is empty in these photos as they are just to show the idea.
Lay the roll of dough around the top edge of the dish, pressing gently to hold it in place.
Lay the roll of dough around the top edge of the dish, pressing gently to hold it in place.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 5 min.
Put the lid on top and press firmly to seal. The lid should have sunk some way into the dough.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 2 min.
It is not essential, but I recommend glazing the dough seal.
Stage 9
Cook as long as required for the recipe.
Remarks
The herbes de Provence are added to make the dough more attractive and they smell wonderful during cooking. You can perfume your dough with different herbs or spices to complement whatever is in the dish.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, covered with plastic film. Freezes very well.
Source: Home made.
How much will it cost?
- For 350 g : 0.30 €
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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipe
Melt-in-the mouth meat and vegetables in a sealed casserole
In this recipe a good joint of beef is slow-cooked, surrounded by an assortment of vegetables in small chunks. To concentrate the flavours, the cooking time should be long at a moderate temperature and, most important of all, the dish should be sealed. By the end of cooking, the vegetables will be...
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This recipe uses (among others)
Flour
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Water
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Fine (or table) salt
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