General quiche pastry recipe

makes 4 or 5 small quiches or one large

 

Pastry for Quiches

2 and 1/8 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold butter, diced

1/2 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 375oF

Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and add the butter.

Rub the mixture together between your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Pour the water into the mixture and, at first, use a knife to mix it together. When it starts to stick together, use your hands to squeeze it together, adding more water if necessary, until it forms a soft ball that leaves the bowl clean.

Wrap the pastry in clingfilm (Saran wrap) and chill for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, roll out your pastry on a well floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. 

Grease and flour your baking tin by rubbing butter or margerine over the bottom then throwing in a handful of flour. Shake the tin to allow the flour to coat the entire surface, then empty out the excess. 

Lay your pastry into the tin, pressing down with your fingers into all corners and cut off any pastry overlapping the edges of the baking tin. You want to leave the pastry about a quarter of an inch higher than the edges to allow for shrinkage. 

To bake the pastry 'blind', you need to weigh it down with some dried or ceramic beans or even some rice. Fill the tin with enough to help the pastry keep it's shape and bake at 375oF for about 15 minutes. Take out of the oven, leave to cool and remove the beans or rice. Proceed with your recipe.