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Tall Quiche Shell

A pastry shell for quiche made from flour, butter, salt, and ice water.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and wheat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,373 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Tall Quiche Shell

1 quiche shell
Oven375 °F (190 °C)
Time30–35 minutes, then 15–20 minutes more

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Combine the salt and half the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

  2. Add the butter, and mix on medium speed until the butter blends into the flour.

  3. Add the rest of the flour, and mix for a few seconds on low speed.

  4. Add the ice water and mix just until blended; do not develop gluten.

  5. Remove the dough from the mixer. If desired, make a few random folds with your hand, not kneading, to create layers that might flake during baking.

  6. Pat the dough into an 8-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Shape and chill the shell

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the quiche ring on top.

  2. Roll out the dough evenly until it is 14 inches in diameter and about 3/16 inch thick; dust with flour as needed.

  3. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, center it over the quiche ring, and tuck the dough to make an even-bottomed, even-walled shell. Wrap excess dough around the outside of the ring, press it down, but keep it thick around the top. Cut any dough that reaches down more than 1.25 inches along the outside of the ring.

  4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Bake and cool

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).

  2. Line the shell with parchment paper, and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice to weigh it down.

  3. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the exposed parts of the crust are golden brown.

  4. Remove the parchment and weights, and patch any tears in the shell with the reserved dough. Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot ring.

  5. Bake for another 15–20 minutes until the bottom is golden brown. Patch again if needed, smoothing the new dough into the existing dough.

  6. Cool completely, and use as directed in your recipe.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

557Calories
13 gProtein
13 gFat
95 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Wheatnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,373 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Wheat + buttertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and holds the shell's shape.
Unsalted butter
Cold cubes melt during baking, leaving pockets that make the crust flaky and tender.
Ice water
Hydrates the flour so the dough holds together while keeping the butter cold.

The step that matters

Mix in the ice water just until blended. Overmixing once water is added lets gluten develop, making the crust tough and shrinking it in the oven. Cold water and a light touch keep the butter in cubes, which creates flakiness.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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