Pastry Shell Preparation

Tart dough by hand
Put the flour, granulated sugar and salt into a medium bowl, stir with a whisk.
Add the cubed butter and cut into flour mixture either with a pastry cutter/fork or use your fingertips.
Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture with a spoon and add the egg. Gently stir the egg with a spoon and take the flour mixture from the sides to incorporate. When it forms clusters, stop stirring and make a ball with your hands. Place the dough onto a plastic film and gently press to make a disc. Keep the dough in the fridge for 1 hour or in the freezer for almost 15 minutes to let the dough rest.

Tart dough with food processor
Place the flour, salt, sugar into a food processor and process for almost 5 seconds until just combined.
Add the cube butter and pulse for almost 20 times until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add in the egg and process for almost 10 seconds until it forms clusters. Bring the dough together with your hands and make a ball. Place the dough on a plastic film and gently press the dough to make a disc. Keep the dough in the fridge for 1 hour or in the freezer for almost 15 minutes to let the dough rest

Rolling out the dough
Flour the work surface, the top of the dough and the rolling pin to avoid sticking. When you roll out the dough, give a quarter turn so the dough won’t stick to the surface as you continue rolling. Working on parchment paper eliminates sticking considerably.
Roll the dough into an almost 11 inches (28 cm) circle almost ⅛inch(3mm) to ⅕inch(5mm) thick. Place into a 9 inch (23cm) preferably nonstick removable bottom pan. If you are not using a non stick pan, butter and flour the pan before placing the dough.

Placing the dough in a tart pan
Lightly flour the dough and the rolling pin. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and gently unroll the dough into the pan and brush away the excess flour. Alternatively you can slide your hands under the dough and remove it from the workspace and place into the pan. For both alternatives, it is important to flour the workspace well from the beginning so the dough won't stick while you are working. If the dough gets warm in any of the steps, you can place it to the fridge to cool and then continue to work. If the dough breaks while placing it into the pan, you can gently press it back together.
After you unroll the dough, start to work from the sides instead of the middle to avoid stretching the dough. If the dough stretches, it will shrink while baking. Gently lift up the dough that is hanging from the sides of the pan and gently press it to the sides with your fingers. Go through from the top of the pan with a rolling pin to trim the excess dough or trim the excess dough with a sharp knife.
If you completely or partially bake the crust without a filling, gently press the sides with your finger so that the dough will go over the pan almost 0.12 inch (3mm). When the dough shrinks from the top, it will shrink to the place where it should be before. This way the sides won’t be low once baked. Also prick the bottom of the dough with a fork so the bottom won't puff while baking.
Before baking, cover the pan with plastic film and keep in the freezer for 40 minutes so once you put it into the hot oven it will keep its shape, it won't puff and the shrinkage will be minimal.

Baking the crust
Preheat the oven to 390°F(200°C) during the last 10 minutes of freezing the dough.
Place the tart pan into a baking sheet and bake at 390°F(200°C) for 10 minutes and then lower the heat to 350°F(177°C) and bake for 15 minutes until the top edges are golden brown and the crust is lightly golden brown.