Coronation Quiche
This recipe focuses on creating a classic, flaky quiche crust from scratch. Utilizing cold butter and lard, it guides you through mixing, chilling, and rolling the dough to achieve the perfect foundation for any quiche, ensuring a tender and crisp texture.
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Pastry blender or fork For cutting butter/lard into flour
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 9-inch Pie or Quiche Dish
- 1 Plastic Wrap For chilling dough
Ingredients
Main
- For the Crust
- 2 cups 280 grams all-purpose flour, more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup 4 ounces cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup 2 ounces cold lard (or additional butter)
- 1/4 cup cold milk more as needed
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and fine salt.
- Add the cubed cold unsalted butter and cold lard to the flour mixture.
- Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the fats into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of fat remaining.
- Gradually add the cold milk, a tablespoon at a time, mixing until the dough just comes together. Be careful not to overmix.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently form it into a disk.
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or preferably an hour, to allow the gluten to relax.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick.
- Carefully transfer the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie or quiche dish, pressing it gently into the bottom and up the sides.
- Trim any excess dough from the edges, leaving about a 1/2-inch overhang, then crimp the edges decoratively.
- Pierce the bottom of the crust several times with a fork, then chill again for 15-20 minutes before blind baking or filling.
Notes
For a truly flaky crust, ensure all your fats (butter, lard) and liquid (milk) are very cold. This prevents the fats from fully incorporating, creating pockets of steam during baking. Avoid overworking the dough, as it can develop gluten and lead to a tough crust. Handle it just enough to bring it together. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour; if too dry, a tiny splash more cold milk. Blind baking the crust before adding the filling is crucial for a crisp base, preventing a 'soggy bottom'.