Lining Pastry

Pâte à foncer is essentially pâte brisée without the addition of eggs; it is unsweetened and is used exclusively for savory preparations that call for a drier pastry. Historically, pâte à foncer was used more often in the poorer regions of France, in the preparation of a tourte de campagne, for example. This heritage explains the elimination or reduction of relatively expensive ingredients such as butter and eggs in pâte à foncer.