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.
225 K 3.7/5 (90 reviews)681617
Last modified on: October 24th 2026
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
Step 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).Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 4
Sealing the dish
Roll the dough into a long "sausage" 1/2 to 1 inch (1 or 2 cm) thick.Step 5
The roll needs to be long enough to go all the way round the lid of your dish.
Step 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.
Step 7 - ⌛ 5 min.
Put the lid on top and press firmly to seal. The lid should have sunk some way into the dough.
Step 8 - ⌛ 2 min.
It is not essential, but I recommend glazing the dough seal.
Step 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: Homemade.
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Nutritional information
| Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats | Calories | Energy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100 g | 6 g RDI=10 % | 52 g RDI=20 % | 1 g RDI=1 % | 240 kcal RDI=12 % | 1,005 kJ RDI=12 % |
| Whole recipe | 23 g RDI=35 % | 185 g RDI=70 % | 3 g RDI=3 % | 853 kcal RDI=43 % | 3,569 kJ RDI=43 % |
How much will it cost?
For 350 g
0.30 €
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
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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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