Pasta Frolla: Italian Short Pastry
Pasta frolla — Italian short pastry, used for crostata (jam tarts), pastiera (Neapolitan Easter tart), and pastry shells across the Italian tradition — differs from French pâte sucrée in its proportion of fat and the addition of lemon zest. The Italian version is richer, more crumbly, and more fragrant than the French equivalent — it is not designed to hold a runny filling but to provide a structure that crumbles under the fork's first pressure.
- **The fat:** Butter, cut into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs — the classic rubbing method. The fat must be cold; warm butter produces a tough, greasy dough. - **The egg:** Whole eggs and/or egg yolks added to the flour-fat mixture — the yolks produce a richer, more tender, more deeply yellow dough. [VERIFY] Hazan's egg specification. - **The lemon zest:** Freshly grated lemon zest — the essential Hazan Italian characteristic. The zest's limonene distributes through the pastry and perfumes every bite. - **The resting:** 1 hour in the refrigerator — the gluten relaxes and the fat firms. Pasta frolla worked immediately after mixing tears and crumbles. - **The baking:** Blind-baked at 180°C, lined with parchment and weighted, for the first 15 minutes; then uncovered for 10–15 minutes until golden. [VERIFY] Hazan's baking specification.
Hazan