I am a part of the egg less baking group. Though I have nothing against eating eggs or baking with eggs I decided to join it. As it has the rusty gear in my head to start creaking into action. It takes some time but then it’s too good a challenge baking without the eggs. Once I start the adrenaline starts flowing and I enjoy it.
Just when by kids told me no more sweet cakes Gayatri the founder of the group announced baking a Quiche.
Now this was one word of the many words I do not know how to pronounce. When I was discussing it with my daughter Apeksha I said I have to bake a “QUEEch” like a queen and she corrected me with a shocked look on her face and told me to call it Keesh rhyming with Kissh.
Apparently she has already eaten it at Nescafe’s. She has told me that I should eat it there to see how it tastes. Now since that is not immediately possible I went ahead and made it.
So let’s start with the basics the first thing that you will need is the base so here it is though Gayatri choose Martha Stewart recipe and someday I will make it Martha Stewart way with eggs but today for the base however I went to Stephanie Jaworski of Joy of Baking here.
According to Stephanie Quiche base is also known as Pate Brisee pronounced as Path bree-ZAY. The key to making a good pastry base is cold water and butter and also less handling. Joy used the food processor to make her dough. I used my good old hands.
The next major buy may be a food processor but then to keep it we will have to buy a new flat. What an idea sirji? Sure way to press for a new flat so you know for sure where my processor will remain. :D
Ingredients for Quiche base
350 grams Maida
1/8 tsp salt
14 grams granulated white sugar
225 g Amul butter, chilled and cut to 1 inch pieces
60 ml-120 ml ice water
Method:
1. Place the flour, salt and sugar in a big bowl and mix well. Here I used the electric mixer.
2. Add the butter and continue mixing with your hand breaking the butter with your fingers till the whole thing resembles a coarse meal.
3. Pour the 60 ml (1/4 cup) cup of water and mix slowly till the mix till the dough holds together when pinched. Add more water if needed 1 tsp at a time. Do not over mix.
4. Turn the dough on the work surface and gather it in a ball. Divide it in 2 pieces and flatten each to a disk. Cover in plastic and refrigerate for minimum 30 minutes to 1 hour before using. This allows the butter to chill and the gluten to relax. My dough was the overnight guest of my fridge.
5. In theory for each disk of pastry on a lightly floured surface roll the dough to fit an 8 or 9 inch tart pan. Turn the pan upside down on the rolled out pastry it should be 1 inch larger than the pan. The roll has to be of even thickness take care that it does not stick to the workplace. You have to roll the pastry on the rolling pin and then unroll it on the pan after dusting the excess flour. Never pull the pastry to avoid shrinkage. With a floured bit of pastry press to the base and sides.
6. In the best of time I cannot roll out a chapatti so this was a real real test or a nightmare. I could not manage to roll out the dough for the first two bases. So I tried pressing the flour in the tin for the first two and smoothening it to the minimum.
7. The third one I did manage to roll out but it was not too good. It kept cracking up at the edges and you know once a crack it keeps getting bigger and bigger. But by this time when I reached the third base the bulb that is in my head started flickering to life and I realized that I had not made the dough in the processor so I did need to knead the flour a bit and maybe add more water when I was making the dough. Am I correct in my analysis? Please help me here to understand where I went wrong.
8. In whatever way get it in the pan and since I have a pie pan I fluted the edges. Your pastry is ready.
To pre bake:
1. Poke the base with a fork this will prevent the pastry from puffing up.
2. Cover and rest for 20 minutes to chill the butter and rest the gluten.
3. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line the shell with a foil. Fill the foil with rice or beans.
4. Place the pan in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or till the crust is dry and light brown.
5. I let them cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then unmolded the base. Let it cool completely.
Stephanie said you get 2 bases but I got 3 smaller ones.
Now since I was not too good in rolling out the dough and I had pressed it in the pan there were a few cracks. But the liquids in the filling did not seep out for which I was thankful.
Most important handle the bases with care they are extremely delicate. my first one cracked when I poked it by accident.
I am terribly sorry I did not think of taking pictures of the base will do so next time around.
Egg-less Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake
