The right weight of pastry for a pie


The right weight of pastry for a pie
Let's try to solve a thorny problem: How much dough will I need when I make my next pie?

You're planning to make a pie, you're going to use your favourite mould or circle, but how much pastry will you need to fill it completely with a well spread pastry, without being too thin, or on the contrary end up with a lot of extra pastry?
62 K 4.3/5 (42 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:BakingTipsWeightDoughPiePanDiameter
Last modified on: March 20th 2020
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
The right weight of pastry for a pie
This is not at all obvious actually, as ideally once the mould is lined it should only stick out about 1cm.

pie dough sticking out of the pan



You can of course use your own judgement, but at home I often use a 22 cm diameter (the small one), or sometimes 26 (the large one), and in any case I always get a 300 gr cake. And of course sometimes the big one is good, and sometimes the small one is too much. Well, it's not a tragedy either, if I have extra dough, I take advantage of it to make a few more tarts and it's fine.

excess pastry pie



By the way, if it's shortcrust pastry, there will never be any excess pastry, because it will be eaten, as soon as my back is turned, by the raw pastry aficionados I have at home...

Well, it's not all that, but can we do a little better than au pif? Yes, it's a pastry chef's trick, this weight of dough thing, and as they are people of numbers, of rigour, of precision, of grams and degrees, they have invented a kind of magic formula for that, linked to the diameter of your mould. It looks like this:

Weight of dough needed (gr) = diameter of the mould (mm) + 20.

For example, you have a 22 cm mould => 220 mm + 20 = 240 => you need 240 gr of batter.
Another example, 26 cm mould => 260 mm + 20 = 280 => you need 280 gr of batter.

plum tart



Very simple, isn't it? Well, be careful we're only one cow away anyway, and if you're not comfortable with a rolling pin to roll out the dough feel free to increase the magic number, and go from 20 to 30, or even 40.

In summary: To determine the right weight of pastry you need with your tart tin, you can apply the "magic" formula: pastry weight in gr = tin diameter in mm + 20.

Lasts posts
The thermometer is your friend
The thermometer is your friend
There are many recipes or foods that require a (very) precise cooking temperature: foie gras, sugar for caramel, meats and fish, and not forgetting pastries. For these few examples, getting the cooking temperature wrong can spoil the whole recipe or dish: undercooked, it's no good or misses the...
April 10th 20257605
Travel cakes
Travel cakes
You may have come across the term "travel cakes" ("gateaux de voyage" in french) for certain pastries, so let's take a look at what they're all about.
January 27th 20252,714
The aromatic power of sugar
The aromatic power of sugar
In the kitchen, sugar doesn't just sweeten, it also has an exceptional ability to capture flavors. Combined with aromatic ingredients, such as citrus zest, it acts as a veritable sponge for aromas. By taking the time to let the sugar soak up the flavors, you can transform your desserts, making...
December 25th 20243,0715
The little trap of thick cream
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...
December 13th 20243,3445
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...
November 29th 20243,4825
Other pages you may also like
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.
June 21th 201761 K 24.2
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
February 7th 2017127 K 14.1
Egg yolks and caster sugar
Egg yolks and caster sugar
We often come across recipes where we need to mix egg yolks with caster sugar. This would appear to be a very ordinary and simple thing to do but, be warned, these two ingredients can behave oddly together.
February 15th 201877 K 24.3
The so-called "nervous" meats
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...
April 16th 202130 K4.5
The baker always gild twice
The baker always gild twice
I've already told you about gilding, the beaten whole egg that is spread with a brush on anything that needs to brown in the oven: puff pastry, pastries, etc. and that professionals use a lot, I'm going to come back to this to clarify a bit how to do it, and give you a professional tip.
June 9th 201932 K4.2
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page