Can’t stop your tart crust from puffing? We heard that SOS from miles away. Here’s how to help stop that dough crust from puffing up in the oven and ruining your tart case dreams.
It can be disappointing when things don’t go the way you planned them to be. Take this one for example, each time you make a tart (or pie), the crust dough just seems to bubble up in the oven. That is all fine when the bubbles go away, but sometimes they have a knack to crack the dough causing leaks, and other times they just push out the tart filling causing spillage in your oven. Very disappointing, and disheartening. Here’s how you can stop your tart crust from puffing.
Regardless of whether you are pre-baking or not, it’s important that you dock your tart crust. What ‘docking’ essentially means is to use a fork to poke holes all over the dough, making sure to get all the sides and walls of the dough. So, what’s the deal with docking our tart dough then? Poking those holes allows steam to escape during baking. That means the steam isn’t trapped under the dough during baking and it has nowhere to go—which causes your tart crust to puff up. The steam comes from the butter in the dough, which turns to liquid and then to steam in the oven.
If you are already docking and still having issues with puffing up, you may not be docking enough. But don’t give up, you can do it, you have to make sure you are pressing the fork to the bottom of the pan. Keep doing that and you will notice your tart crusts no longer puff up. They will be gone. Persistence pays and you can say “Goodbye, Hufflepuff!”
