Quiche Crust Shortcrust Pastry For Pies Recipes

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.

SAVOURY SHORTCRUST PASTRY FOR QUICHES AND TARTS

Steps:

• Place the Flour and Salt in the bowl of your Food processor and pulse to mix.
• Add the very cold Butter, cut into small cubes, and slowly pulse to blend it into the flour until you get a thin crumb like consistency.
• While pulsing, slowly add the very cold Water a little bit at the time. Stop as soon as the dough comes together (see note 1) and transfer over a sheet of baking paper on your kitchen bench.
• Assemble the dough into a ball and gently flatten it with your hands. Place a second sheet of baking paper over it, and leave to rest for about 10 minutes.
• Roll the Pastry into a large circle (see note 2) about 4mm - 1/8 inch thick. Place the tart pan over it to check it is rolled wide enough to fill it.
• Place the rolled pastry over a flat tray and leave in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours).
• Remove the two baking sheets and place the rolled pastry inside the Quiche/Tart Pan. Gently slide down the pastry along the sides of the pans, then press it against the pan so that it sticks to it. Remove any excess with a small pairing knife or rolling pin (see note 3).
• Poke the bottom of the pastry with a fork, then place back in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours). Just before baking the pastry, place it in the freezer (for at least 15 minutes) to make sure the butter is extremely cold, almost frozen.
• Bake according to the recipe instructions - either blind-baked for 20 minutes at 180'C/350'F filled with baking paper and baking weights (beads, dried beans, rice etc...) or directly with the filling.

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.

FLAKY HOMEMADE QUICHE CRUST WITH BUTTER (SHORTCRUST PASTRY)

Steps:

• In a bowl mix together all the dry ingredients and add the cold butter cut into small cubes. Rub the butter and the flour together until you end up with a sandy/breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg and mix using one finger. Transfer the dough onto your working surface and use the palm of your hand to smear the dough and obtain a homogeneous mixture. You can repeat the operation up to 2 or 3 times. Shape the dough as a rectangle 2 cm thick and cover in plastic wrap.
• Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.
• Butter the tin. Line the quiche tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170 C°/360 F. Line the interior of the crust with parchment paper. Fill with beans or rice and blind bake for 12 minutes. Remove the beans/rice and the parchment paper and bake until the quiche crust is cooked and is still without colour. Now the dough is ready to be filled with the filling of your choice and baked until golden.

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.

SHORTCRUST PASTRY - QUICHE CRUST

Steps:

• If using a food processor: place the flour, butter and salt in a food processor, and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. f opting to mix by hand, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough from becoming warm.
• Add the water spoon by spoon to the mixture, stirring or blitz (if using a food processor) until the dough binds together. You can use a little more water if needed but do not add too much at a time. Form the dough into a ball then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Sprinkle clean surface with flour, and place the chilled dough. Sprinkle top with flour, then roll out into approximately 30cm/12" round. Gently place the rolled out pastry onto a 23cm quiche pan. You can use a rolling pin to lift it onto the pan.
• Press the pastry into the edges of the quiche pan then roll the rolling pin across the top to trim off the excess pastry. Return to the fridge for another 10-15 minutes to ensure the butter stays chilled. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F)
• Place a large piece of baking paper over the pastry, then fill with baking beans to weigh it down. Then place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Turn oven down to 180C/350F. Remove pastry from the oven and lift the baking beans out using the overhang of the baking paper. Return to oven for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is lightly browned.
• The pastry is now ready to use! You can chill completely and save for a future recipe, or continue with filling of your choice. Please note: at this point, the pastry has only been blind baked and is not yet fully cooked. It will continue to cook when filled.

QUICK QUICHE OR PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in food processor, and pulse slowly until mixture is the size of peas.
• Slowly add in, 1 Tbls. at a time, cold water until you can form it into a ball.
• Pat evenly into a 9 inch pie or quiche pan.