Quick question: I teach 3:2:1 pâte brisée — 300 g flour, 200 g cold butter, 100 g ice water — and I’ve never been sure who formalized that ratio. Was it Escoffier, an American test kitchen from mid-century, or is there an earlier printed source someone can point to?
Not Escoffier — his brisée is about 2:1 with water “as needed,” not your 300/200/100… Building on @jacthom, the earliest explicit “3–2-1 pie dough” I’ve come across is in U.S. culinary-school texts (Gisslen/Friberg, late ’80s–’90s), which makes me think the label is American pedagogy later amplified by Ruhlman. If you search Google Books for the exact phrase pre‑2000, you’ll likely land on the first printed use — if you beat ’85, I’ll happily eat my slice.