Name: How to seal a terrine or casserole dish
Prep time: 33 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 350 g
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 250 g flour; 100 g water; 5 g fine (or table) salt; 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence; 25 g beaten egg

Step by step recipe:

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).
3 min.
Knead until the dough begins to hold together.

For sealing, there is no need to work the dough any more than this.
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.
Sealing the dish
Roll the dough into a long "sausage" 1/2 to 1 inch (1 or 2 cm) thick.
The roll needs to be long enough to go all the way round the lid of your dish.
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.
5 min.
Put the lid on top and press firmly to seal. The lid should have sunk some way into the dough.
2 min.
It is not essential, but I recommend glazing the dough seal with a brush and beaten egg-yolk.
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.