Flaky Homemade Quiche Crust With Butter Shortcrust Pastry Recipes

QUICHE CRUST / SHORTCRUST PASTRY FOR PIES

Steps:

• Place flour, salt and butter in a food processor.
• Pulse 10 times or until it looks like breadcrumbs.
• With the motor running on low, pour 2.5 tbsp of water into the tube feeder.
• Turn up to high and blitz for 30 seconds or until it turns into a ball of dough. Initially it will look like breadcrumbs, then it will turn into a ball of soft dough - some random escaped bits is fine. If it doesn't look like its coming together at 20 seconds, add another 1/2 tbsp of water. Don't blitz longer than 30 seconds at most.
• Form a disc, wrap in cling wrap. If there are escaped crumble bits, that's fine - just press them in. Refrigerate for 1 - 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan forced)
• Sprinkle work surface with flour, unwrap dough and place on the flour. Sprinkle top with flour, then roll out into a 27cm/11" round.
• Gently roll the pastry so it wraps around the rolling pin.
• Unroll it over the quiche pan or pie dish - 23cm / 9".
• Press the pastry into the edges of the quiche pan, patching up edges if required (if pastry doesn't quite reach top of rim).
• Roll the rolling pin across the top to cut off the excess pastry.
• Optional extra "safe measure" refrigeration - 15 minutes. See (Note 2).
• Place a large piece of parchment paper over the pastry, then fill with baking beads or lots of rice or dried beans to weigh it down. (Note 3)
• Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven.
• Turn oven DOWN to 180C/350F (or 160C/320F fan).
• Use excess paper to CAREFULLY remove hot beads, then return to oven for 10 minutes or until base is light golden.
• Remove from oven and fill with chosen Quiche Filling. Quiche Lorraine, Salmon Quiche, Italian Sausage or your other filling of choice.
• The pastry will not be 100% cooked, it finishes cooking with the filling. It's cooked enough so the crust will not go soggy.

BRITISH SHORTCRUST PIE PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine flour, butter, and shortening using a food processor until crumbly. Mix in water 1 tablespoon at at time until dough is soft and pliable.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap; let rest in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.

HOMEMADE QUICHE CRUST

Steps:

• In a food processor add the flour, salt, chilled cubed butter (and vegetable shortening) Pulse for 30 seconds until it resembles coarse bread crumb consistency. Pro tip - You can also do this in a bowl using a pastry blender or fork, (I prefer my fingertips) to cut the butter (and vegetable shortening) into the flour. It should look like a crumbly flour-butter mixture.
• Combine the egg with cold water and add it to the mixture. Pulse or combine for 30 seconds more. Pro tip - the mixture will still be crumbly but when squished with your fingers it will shape into a dough. So, don't over mix or pulse too much.
• Pour the mixture onto a work surface. Bring all the crumbs together and shape it into a ball. Then flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 to 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll. Pro tip - If you flatten it into a larger disc it will chill faster and you will have to wait for much less time.
• Once firm enough to roll - roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Star with a tapping motion, then roll from the center out. Pro tip - if the dough cracks too much, means it's too cold. Let it at room temperature for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Use your quiche pan as a guide to know how big you need it. When you reach the desired size, transfer the dough without cracking. Gently fit it to the pie pan, especially in the bottom edges. Pro tip - To transfer the dough without cracking too much, I like to roll the dough onto my rolling pin then unroll it over the pan.
• Remove the excess dough and neaten the edges. When using a quiche or tart pan, I like to roll my rolling pin over the tart to cut off the excess around the edges. Then neaten the edges by running your thumb along the edges. If using a pie pan, fold the edges under and crimp the edge by forming a V shape with your thumb and index finger.
• Chill the quiche crust in the fridge for 15 minutes up to 48 hours. Pro tip - if leaving for a long time make sure to wrap in plastic so it does not dry out.
• Preheat the oven at 400°F / 200°C/ Gas Mark 6Pro tip- it is very essential that the oven is heated to the optimal temperature otherwise the crust can shrink when baking.
• Dock the chilled pastry all over with a fork to prevent the pastry from puffing up. Line the pie with parchment paper. Then, fill the center with pie weights or baking beans (dry beans) Pro tip - this is called blind baking the crust. We do this so that the pastry will be partially cooked before we add the filling.
• Bake for 15 minutes - then, remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Add the filling to the pre-baked crust and bake it further for as long and necessary - until the filling is cooked. Depending on the recipe you will need to reduce oven temperature to 350°F/ 177°C/ Gas mark 4Pro tip - most quiche filling will include a dry filling mixture with a custard-based liquid mixture.
• When baking If the edges of the crust get too dark, tent the edges with aluminum foil or a pie shield to prevent it from becoming too dark.Pro tip - Make sure your cover just the edges of the tart otherwise you will not have a nice color on the quiche.

BASIC SHORT-CRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Put flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Add butter and quickly cut it into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add ice water and mix briefly, about 30 seconds, to form a soft dough. Remove dough, shape into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to cool room temperature before rolling.
• To roll, lightly flour dough and counter. Roll out gradually, periodically letting dough rest for a moment before continuing. This makes rolling easier and will keep dough from shrinking back during baking.
• Roll dough to a thin round approximately 13 inches in diameter, then trim to make a 12-inch circle (refrigerate and save trimmings for patching). Lay dough loosely into a 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom, letting it relax a bit. Fold overlap back inside to make a double thickness, then press firmly against the pan so the finished edge is slightly higher than the pan. Refrigerate or freeze for an hour before pre-baking.

CLASSIC BUTTER PIE PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed., Shape dough into a disk for a single-crust pie; for a double-crust pie, divide dough in 2 with 1 piece slightly larger than the other. Shape into 2 disks. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. , For a single-crust pie: Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Fill or bake according to recipe directions., For a double-crust pie: Add filling to pie. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Bake according to recipe directions.

BUTTERCRUST PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Place blade insert into bowl of food processor. Add 1 cup flour. Sprinkle frozen butter cubes over flour. Add remaining 1 cup flour, sugar, and salt. Cover. Pulse in short bursts on and off until butter is broken into small pieces and looks crumbly, about 1 minute. Drizzle in ice water. Pulse with longer pulses, on and off, until mixture turns pale yellow and looks like crumbs, about 10 to 12 seconds. Scrape down sides with spatula. Pulse once or twice more.
• Transfer mixture onto a work surface. Bring pieces together to form a tight round ball of dough. Flatten slightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight before rolling out.