Resting: meat and dough

Resting: meat and dough

Let time do its work before slicing or rolling out

The method

For meat, remove it from the heat source, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and leave it undisturbed. For dough, form a ball, cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature or in the refrigerator according to the recipe.

When to use it

After cooking any whole piece of meat, before slicing it. For dough, between kneading and shaping, or before rolling out pie dough, so the gluten relaxes and no longer shrinks back.

The pitfalls

1. Slicing meat right out of the oven or pan lets all the juices escape
2. Rolling out pie dough that hasn't rested causes it to shrink during baking
3. Tightly covering hot meat softens the crispy exterior

The indicator

Allow about half the cooking time for meat to rest, up to 10 to 15 minutes for a large piece. Pie dough requires at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before being rolled out.