Before and after! Its been months waiting!
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Very nice! Looks like the kind of kitchen that says “lets cook something” congrats. Randy/GA
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I hope the pictures going from bottom to top -before, after! I like After more 
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Very nice. You are all set to become the next Julia Child! 
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What is above the sink?
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Murkey, this is a very French thing to do. Its the hot water heater for the entire apartment. Two full bathrooms, powder loo and kitchen. I also have the apartment next door. It has a hot water heater that is twice the size, again in the other kitchen, but the laundry room is there too.
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I am trying to bake tart shells for the first time. Can you please help mentor me? My mom wasn’t a baker. Do I need a special pan? Can you recommend one? I started yesterday just for fun on a rainy New England Day. I tried to follow Julia Childs recipes. I then used the internet and finally AI! I tried keeping everything cool. But the flour never really blended with the tiny bits of butter the make pea sized bits. Any advice or videos you could recommend would be greatly appreciated!!!
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You need a tarte pan with removeable bottom, or a tarte circle. Lets start there. What kind of tarte do you want to make. There will be a difference in pan you use.
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Oh THANK YOU!
I just left Chamonix and I enjoyed a blueberry tart up top for breakfast every day! It did not have a custard or cream in it… just a firm crust and tiny alpine blueberries (which I grow). It was not a small round tart, more of a 9-10” pie plate size. I am kicking myself now for not buying some tins while there. I did buy all my skin care lines.
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You an buy the tarte pans in any good cook shop or even on amazon. Easy to find.
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Just put two in my basket. I did not own the huge kitchen aid mixer. I was using a pre chilled bowl and the hand mixer (pre chilled the paddle).
I
used 150 grams unsalted butter,
300 grams basic American flour,
50 g powdered sugar,
60 g almond (ground up in my coffee grinder).
1 egg
And drops of ice cold water.
I chilled it wrapped in plastic. Fridge 30 minutes.
Made a disk and rolled it out on my cool countertop.
Pressed it in my Pyrex. Poked it w/ fork. Put paper on base and placed beans on top. Baked 375 or 15 minutes. Took paper and beans off. Brushed with egg wash and baked 10-25 minutes longer.
The crust is doughy and tough.
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why would you put a hot water heater above the sink? I cant imagine why that would be beneficial in any way. I would rather have it under something or inside a closet I think.
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To be honest, I don’t know what kind of tart I want to make. I would normally shy away from a tart. But I needed to eat and was surprised how much I liked it. I grow loads of Maine tiny blueberries, so I thought I should learn. I also grow cherries, apples, pears, raspberries….i want to learn to do something with all of them.
I am by no means an expert on pie crusts but I would look to how much water was added and to the temperature of the bake. I also recall that people frequently suggest that a dough was overworked (mixed too much/for too long) when someone says that their crust is tough.
When I’ve got enough fat to my flour that I don’t need to add any water and when I’ve got the oven up at a good, high temperature is when I feel that my crusts seem to be best. @marknmt, I recall that you are a baker, do you have much experience with pie crusts?
You said that you are using a hand mixer and a paddle. Have you tried using any other mixing method, specifically a pastry blender
or a food processor with a chopping blade?
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This is my experience with pie crusts. You want to mix it the ABSOLUTE bare minimum or it ends up tough. Really the best and easiest way is with a food processor (as @marknmt has recommended)
I used to use a cheese grater for butter with everything frozen/put in the freezer but a food processor works even better
Hand mixing introduces warmth, which is the opposite of what you want
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My grandma always used crisco from the big blue tub for any of her crusts she would make. And they were always very light and flakey.
One thing is your making a crust, not bread. So you don’t want to over work it.
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@mrsg47 is living in France and it sounds like it is general convention there:
@TheDerek, that appears to be an on-demand water heater. In my area when people retrofit to that style they are often mounted on a wall, generally near an outside wall (for venting purposes), although more frequently in a garage. I don’t suppose that France has all that many attached garages, especially in an apartment-type of dwelling.
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I know a few people around here have those but they usually put them under the sink, but I dont think they are quite that big typically.
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