Tourtière landaise — stretched-dough apple and Armagnac pastry
Tourtière landaise is a sweet stretched-dough pastry from the Landes/Gascon tradition, not the meat pie known as tourtière in Canada. The dough is worked until elastic, rested, then stretched over a cloth until it is almost translucent. Butter, sugar and Armagnac separate the layers around thin apple slices.
The demanding part is the dough rather than the filling. It needs enough kneading to become elastic, enough rest to relax, and a gentle centre-out stretching motion so it thins without tearing. A short surface dry makes the dough less tacky before it is brushed, sugared and folded into layers.
The finished pastry should be crisp and deeply golden with a fully cooked bottom, while the apple remains tender rather than turning into a wet compote. Cooling is also functional: the fruit syrup is extremely hot straight from the oven and needs time to settle before clean slices are safe and practical.
