The Chef Within

I am preparing quiche for a group of 60 this Saturday and as I was rolling out the pastry it occurred to me that I should be grabbing my camera.

Very few people make their own pastry these days.  We are left to believe that there is some magical skill involved.  Honestly… it’s not hard and one of these days soon we’ll cover that.  But truthfully… it is a big messy and it is a little frightening the first time or two.  So because of those two issues I advocate doing two things:  if you are going to make pastry make a large batch so the mess is worth it.  Pastry dough freezes beautifully and you will be surprised at how excited you will be to make quiche or pies when the dough is sitting in the freezer ready to be used.

Let’s say you quadruple a recipe which will make four crusts.  Mix up your big batch and then divide the batch into four equal parts.  If you have a scale use that to get them even.  Typically a one crust pastry will weigh 8-9 ounces.

If you don’t, give it your best guess.  Take each portion and shape it into a disc.

Then place the discs in a heavy duty ziploc freezer bag and tuck it into the freezer.

The discs will last two or three months which will give you plenty of time to use them.  When you need one, simply remove what you need from the freezer, wrap it in plastic film and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.  Additionally, when you are getting ready to roll it out, let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes or so to soften a bit.  It just makes the rolling easier.

The second huge recommendation is that you roll your pastry disc betweeen two sheets of parchment or wax paper.   All to frequently, when people are learning to make pastry they will roll the pastry directly on the counter and if the dough doesn’t roll into a perfect circle they get frustrated and bunch it up and try again and again until they get it right.  That rolling and rerolling is a big reason some pastries are tough.  Flaky pastries are a result of very little handling.  So take your disc and two sheets of paper.

Place the first sheet of paper on the counter and flour slightly.

Place the disc in the center of the paper and flour slightly.

Top with the second sheet of paper and press genlty with your hand and palm to do some preliminary shaping.

Then take your rolling pin and start rolling the disc in a circular manner (not up one way and then down the other) but roll around the edges in shorter strokes

turning the paper 90 degrees everytime.

You will circle around the disc several times as it spreads to the right diameter.

When it is wide enough to cover you pan, remove the top sheet of paper…

pick up the bottom sheet to which the pastry is stuck and flip it onto the plate.

The paper will allow you to move it around and center it over the plate just perfectly without tearing.  When you think it’s where it needs to be, remove the final sheet.   If you haven’t rolled a “perfect circle” simply cut and paste parts that are overhanging with places that may be short.

Press the the pastry into the bottom and sides of the pan

and then trim and crimp your edges.

The crimping is totally personal.  During classes I have shown people my technique for crimpiing and invariably they develop their own style which is very acceptable and beautiful.  So just dive into the crimping and don’t worry for a moment what the “traditional” technique is.  Just do what feels right for your fingers and I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

When I’m making quiche this weekend I’ll show you a couple of tricks for simplifying and getting ideal results.