It took me long enough, but my post on a Sourdough Quiche Crust is here. I cannot fathom the reason for the delay, but if you’re a baker of sourdough loaves and quiches like me, this is just what you need. It’s another delicious way of putting your ever- abundant store of sourdough discard to good use. I’m sharing some tips on mastering quiches and my recipe for the crust as well as a lamb mince yoghurt quiche I made.
How to make a flaky, crack-proof quiche crust
| Instructions | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ensure all the ingredients such as the flour, butter, water and sourdough discard; as well as your mixing bowl are chilled. |
| 2 | You can use a food processor to combine the dough. If you’re going the hands-on route, use a fork to break up the cubes of cold butter into the flour. Once that is done, use your hand to quickly bring the dough together. DO NOT KNEAD or overwork the dough for longer than needed – your body temperature will warm the dough. |
| 3 | Use as little water as possible to combine the dough. Adding too much water will encourage gluten formation and yield a hard crust. It’ll also create steam while baking and make the crust swell up. You’ll notice patches of butter in the unbaked crust in the picture (below); the butter melts during baking creating pockets of air that make the pastry flaky. |
| 4 | Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes before rolling out the dough. |
| 5 | To roll the Sourdough Quiche Crust, place the dough on a piece of parchment, place another piece of parchment on top and gently roll out the crust to an even thickness (⅛ of an inch) and the required size. Then, remove the top parchment, and lift the bottom parchment, placing the crust into a quiche tin (a pie dish with a removable base). Tuck in the edges and the sides and trim the edges. |
| 6 | Dock or prick the base all over with a fork. This will allow any air to escape and stop the pastry from rising when it’s baked. Chill and rest the crust for 30 minutes before baking to allow the gluten to relax and the butter to harden. This is necessary to get a flaky crust.  |
| Blind bake (pre-baking the crust without the filling) this Sourdough Quiche Crust for 15 minutes at 180℃. This way, you can ensure that the crust is flaky and fully cooked and there are no bits of raw crust left. | |
| 8 | After the crust has been baked blind, brush the base with an egg wash before pouring in the filling. The egg will seal the base and prevent any leaks.  |
How this crust is different from a standard quiche crust
A regular quiche crust has flour, butter, water and salt. For this crust, I used sourdough discard (my discard has 100% hydration i.e. equal amounts of water to flour), almond flour and all-purpose flour. The dough is a tad more sticky but still easy to handle. You may prefer to omit the almond flour. Just replace it with all-purpose flour. I blind baked the crust for 20 minutes. If you find the sides browning faster, just cover it lightly with foil while the base bakes.
Filling for the quiche
You can be really creative with quiche fillings, but whatever combination of vegetables and/or meats you choose to go with, remember to pre-cook them, so that they don’t release any water during baking. The filling should be thick and not runny. The egg and milk custard used to set the quiche and give it a creamy texture, should be seasoned with salt and pepper; you may add dried herbs like thyme or oregano if you wish. To elevate your custard for a richer, more luxurious mouth-feel, substitute half the milk for light cream. You may also add some cheese of your choice.
For this post, I decided to compliment the mild tang of the Sourdough Quiche Crust with a Greek yoghurt and egg custard. It goes very well with the spiced lamb mince and roasted red pepper filling. It made a delicious change from the regular milk version and I think I might use the yoghurt custard more often.
I’ve shared all the steps and tips I follow to make my quiches. Having said that, quiche-making is something that gets better with practice (just like baking bread). Each time you bake a quiche, you learn something new. So, do try this Sourdough Quiche Crust and do share your experience in the comments.
Sourdough Quiche Crust
Ingredients
For the crust
- 115 g sourdough discard (100% hydration)
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g almond meal (whole almond flour)
- 113 g cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp chilled water
For the lamb filling
- 300 g lamb mince
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, halved and deseeded
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 120 g plain Greek yoghurt
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Put all the cold ingredients for the crust into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds till they're combined. Remove into a bowl and bring together to form a ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 mins.
- Alternatively, put the ingredients, except the sourdough discard and water in a cold bowl and using a fork, break the butter cubes to mix with the flours. Then use your fingertips to rub the butter in so that you get a mixture resembling breadcrumbs. Do this with a light touch. Add the discard and water and stir with a fork. Press the dough together with your hands. If you need more water, add a tbsp at a time, till you can bring the dough together into a rough ball. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 mins.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 180℃, lightly rub the skin side of the bell peppers with a little oil, place (skin side up) on a parchment – lined baking sheet and roast for 20 mins. remove the tray from the oven, place the peppers in a bowl and cover to allow the blistered skin to peel off easily.
- Place the chilled quiche base in the hot oven and bake for 20-30 mins. If the crust looks done in 20 mins, remove it from the oven.
- Make the filling while the crust bakes. Peel and slice the peppers into long strips. Heat olive oil in a pan on a moderate flame and saute the onions and garlic till they turn translucent. Then add the lamb mince and salt and fry to lightly brown for 2 minutes. Then add the ground spices (except the pepper), chilli flakes and oregano an cook for 30 seconds. Add a few tbsps of water, cover and cook for 15 mins till the lamb is done. You should have a moist but thick mixture of lamb without any extra water. Transfer to a bowl and allow it to cool. The filling can be made in advance.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl and using a pastry brush, lightly coat the quiche base with a little egg wash. Add the yoghurt, salt, pepper and thyme to the remaining egg and beat to combine.
- Pour the cooled lamb into the quiche base and spread evenly. Pour the egg-yoghurt mixture over to cover the meat, arrange the roasted pepper slice all around to cover the surface, place the quiche tin on a pastry sheet and bake the at 180℃ for 25-30 mins.
- When it has set and baked, remove the quiche tin and place on a wire rack to cool a little before gently unmolding the quiche from the tin. This quiche can be eaten warm or cold.
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