Miniature Quiches

[Tom Gengo]

I am catering 2 weddings next year and both have requested mini quiches, which I intend to make from scratch (Lorraine topped w/ a chip of bacon; asparagus topped w/ an asparagus tip; broccoli & roasted red pepper.) The challenge here seems to be w/ the pastry dough. When I roll & cut out the dough and put it into the mini pan it looks like godzilla's step child when it comes out of the oven (blind baking.) Professional Cooking (Le Cordon Bleu) suggests putting another pan onto the pastry shell and baking upside down, but that results in a problem w/ the pastry tearing. Challenges I am having are 1. docking is difficult to do w/o tearing the dough and the edges are "bloated" 2. Forming the pastry inside the mini muffin tin results in a very unevenly edged pastry 3. ONce blind baked (w/o anything inside) the shell swells as one would expect and there is little room for the custard. I will need 150 for one wedding and 300 for another, so I am fretting the labor on this right now.

If you have experience w/ baking miniature pastry shells that are ATTRACTIVE, please share your insight. I just can't seem to get a product that is satisfying to the eye- the taste and texture is right on target. Thank you in advance.

Edited December 20, 2009 by Tom Gengo (log)

[Lisa Shock]

Are you using weights? Something like dry beans, or pie weights helps keep the dough down.

[maggiethecat]

Mini quiches = nightmare. I feel for you.

My best advice is annoying, but you have to follow it. Cut squares of foil the size of your mini Qs. Press them into the mini cups, and follow Lisa's advice about weights. (I use old pennies -- they conduct heat.)

[KarenDW]

My heart sank, just a little, when I read this post. For the reasons you stated, I generally use pre-made pastry for mini-tarts of any sort. Is there nothing available which would meet your needs?

On those occasions where I have made the pastry for tiny tarts, the best results have come from a pressed pastry, rather than a rolled one. I scoop the dough into the cups, then press w/ a dough tamper. I didn't bother w/ weights, but pierced the surface (not quite throught) w/ a fork. But then, I only made 8 dozen...

[Kerry Beal]

For little tarts I've taken to using this French pastry that David Lebovitz linked too. I use a tart tamper to put it in the tart pans. It's solved my puffing problem.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

I was just thinking of the same solution as Kerry... I haven't tried making this pastry for mini tarts but I think it would be a lot easier to handle. Let us know what you decide on and how it goes, I'd be interested to have a solution for this as well

[Tom Gengo]

Ok, now you see what has happened to me (see pic.) roflmbo. THank you all, Found a couple of solutions 1. As Karen mentioned, I blind baked the shells after tamping them into the mold- improvement, but the docking w/ a fork was tearing the crust. Thought about docking prior to cutting 2. Found in a cookbook to make quiches w/o a pastry crust by buttering the mold, add shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional) and then cook the custard in a bain marie. This has some potential, but starting to think that labor is way to much still. 3. A hybrid of Karen's idea- tamp in a crust just in the bottom after buttering the mold, hmmm. 4. May tell the customers that we HAVE to go w/ full size tarts, cut them in advance and let the guests serve themselves. Really leaning that way since one of the parties can not afford my price and will need to cut to make it work. The economy is hurting everyone. THis has definitely been a learning experience. OH, almost forgot... was not refrigerating after molding and that may help also ,according to several cookbooks, to relax the gluten.

Another interesting solution I found was to replace the water used in the dough w/ vodka, of all things, but makes alot of sense. The vodka reduces the amount of water by 50% assuming 100 proof, thereby reducing the amount of gluten formed w/ the flour, ergo, less shrinking and bakes off during the blind baking.

Edited December 21, 2009 by Tom Gengo (log)

[Lisa Shock]

You may be able to bake off large pans of quiche and then cut out portions with a round biscuit cutter to make pretty rounds. You could then top with a dollop of cheese spread to hold on the garnish.

[LindaK]

My heart sank, just a little, when I read this post. For the reasons you stated, I generally use pre-made pastry for mini-tarts of any sort. Is there nothing available which would meet your needs?

On those occasions where I have made the pastry for tiny tarts, the best results have come from a pressed pastry, rather than a rolled one. I scoop the dough into the cups, then press w/ a dough tamper. I didn't bother w/ weights, but pierced the surface (not quite throught) w/ a fork. But then, I only made 8 dozen...

I use a similar pressed pastry technique, but with a rather unorthodox dough that has the cheese worked into it. Press it into the mini muffin tins, add custard/filling. No blind baking required. Sounds crazy but it actually works. You get a tender, cheesy crust and whatever filling you desire.

Here's the dough measures I use for approx. 3 dozen mini quiche:

- 2 cups flour, 8 oz grated cheese (gruyere, mild cheddar, etc), 1/2 lb butter (softened), salt, dash of cayenne pepper

- cream the butter and cheese, add the salt and cayenne.

- add flour, work into a smooth dough. Let rest at least 1 hour.

- cut off small pieces to form into 1-1/2 inch balls (more or less, depends on how thick you want the crust). Press into mini muffin tins.

Fill with custard and filling. Bake at 400 F for approx 15 minutes.

[emilyr]

I don't usually bother with things that seem too fussy, and I've never blind-baked a quiche crust in my life. Have you tried pressing in the crust, adding the custard and just baking? It seems like the filling would keep the crust from expanding too much, and since they're mini, you shouldn't have to worry about the crust not browning enough.

[Little Colleen]

this is interesting. I just made some yesterday following my grandma's recipe, which uses a pressed pastry, tamping & docking. I have been making them every Christmas (it's a must) for a long time now, and altho there is some bloating they are not bad this way. I will try the weights, don't know why I never thot of that except that grandma didn't do it that way...

Otherwise I like to use something else, like layers of phyllo but that's pretty fussy given the number you are making.

[KarenDW]

Crustless version, baked in silicon molds for easy release, could also provide a menu option for the no-wheat-please guests.

[Tom Gengo]

Thx all for your contribution. I have decided to blind bake 8, 9 & 11 inch tart shells (those are the sizes I have) and then bake off the quiches later. From a production standpoint I was just not able to reconcile the time committment for the minis. The 8" will be quiche lorraine w/ homemade apple smoked maple bacon (light on the maple flavor), the 9" will be roasted red pepper quiches w/ a garnish of red pepper cut brunoise and the 11" will be broccoli quiche. Interestingly, I am doing a crudite platter, so I will utilize the stalks of brocc by peeling and dicing small, steaming and then using for the broccoli quiche.

[Edward J]

This is what I do:

Get twice the amount of individualforms that you need. The alum. disposable ones are fine. With steel forms without a lip I like to line up the forms on the bench, lay a sheet of dough over it, "scrunch" the forms together, and with the dough all loose, get a wad of dough and press the sheet of dough into the forms, then roll a pin across the forms cutting them out. With the disposable kind of forms you have to stamp out discs of dough and hand fit them in each one

Put a second form into the lined first one, so you have a "sandwich". Now put them upside down on a tray and put a second tray on top of this. Bake.

When you bake upside down you aren't fighting gravity anymore, you're making gravity work for you, as it will pull the dough down while it bakes. The second tray adds a bit of wieght, so the bottoms don't puff up.

Absolutely hate the pre-fab shells, and when I read the ingredients on the package, I know why.......