Quiche Lorraine with a Crisp Pastry Crust
A crisp, homemade shortcrust shell filled with smoky bacon and tender egg-and-cream custard, without cheese or onion. Allow about 3 hours, including chilling and resting; additional chilling or baking may extend this.
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Servings
Originally developed for 6 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- 30:00
Mix the 200 g flour and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter until mostly fine crumbs remain, with a few small butter flecks. Stir in 45 ml cold water with a table knife; add more in 5 ml increments only if the mixture will not hold together when squeezed. Gather without kneading, flatten into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- 10:00
While the pastry chills, cut the bacon into 1 cm strips and put it in a cold frying pan. Cook over medium heat for 8–12 minutes, stirring regularly, until cooked through and lightly golden but still slightly supple. Drain in a sieve over a heatproof bowl, then spread on a plate to cool. Do not add the rendered fat to the filling. Wash hands, utensils and surfaces that contacted raw bacon; let the fat cool before disposing of it, not down the sink.
- 15:00
Using only as much dusting flour as needed, roll the chilled pastry into a circle about 31 cm across and 3 mm thick. Line the tin, easing the pastry into the corners without stretching it. Trim away excess beyond a 5 mm overhang; wrap and refrigerate the raw trimmings separately for patching any cracks later. Prick the base lightly with a fork and refrigerate the lined tin for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C conventional / 180°C fan with the metal baking tray on the middle shelf. Wait until the oven and tray are fully heated before baking.
- 20:00
Line the chilled shell with crumpled baking parchment and fill with baking beans, packing them against the sides as well as across the base. Place the tin on the hot tray and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully lift out the parchment and beans. If there are visible cracks, press a small, thin piece of the reserved raw, chilled pastry over each crack; do not use the baked overhang. Bake uncovered for another 8–12 minutes, until the base and any patches are dry and pale golden, with no grey, damp areas.
- 02:00
While the uncovered shell bakes, beat the eggs just until combined and weigh out 10 g into a small bowl, keeping the remainder for the custard. Once the base is dry, brush the reserved 10 g thinly over the hot base and lower sides. Bake for 2 minutes to set the coating. Carefully trim the baked overhang flush with the tin using a small serrated knife. Leave the shell in its tin.
- No timer needed
Reduce the oven to 170°C conventional / 150°C fan and allow it to settle while making the custard. Whisk the remaining beaten egg with the cream, milk, pepper and nutmeg, avoiding foam. Do not add extra salt: the bacon supplies it. If the oven is still substantially above the new setting, wait before baking the filled tart.
- No timer needed
Scatter the cooled, drained bacon evenly in the shell. With the tin supported on the baking tray, pour in the custard, stopping about 5 mm below the pastry rim. The specified tin should hold the filling; never overfill a shallower tin. If necessary, bake surplus filling separately in a small ovenproof ramekin, checking it independently against the same centre-temperature endpoint.
- 30:00
Bake for approximately 35–45 minutes, first checking after 30 minutes. The edges should be set and the central 4–5 cm should tremble gently as one piece, rather than ripple like liquid. Check with a clean thermometer, keeping the tip clear of the metal base: the centre must reach 75°C and remain at or above it for 30 seconds. The wobble is a texture cue, not a substitute for the temperature check. Remove promptly once cooked; do not wait for a rigid centre. If the pastry rim darkens too quickly, shield just the rim with foil and continue cooking the filling.
- 20:00
Rest the quiche in its tin on a rack for 20 minutes, uncovered so steam does not soften the crust. Carefully release the sides, supporting the base, and slice into six portions. The tin may still be hot; carry it supported by a tray or its rim, without pressing the loose base upwards.
Chef tips
- If the pastry becomes soft or greasy during rolling, chill it for another 10–15 minutes before continuing; this extends the schedule.
- Reserve raw trimmings when lining the tin and keep them wrapped in the fridge until needed. Baked overhang cannot be moulded reliably into cracks.
- Do not stretch pastry into the tin. Chilling and baking beans packed against the sides help prevent shrinking.
- A damp-looking base or patch needs more uncovered blind baking before the egg seal is applied.
- Drain the bacon thoroughly and do not add extra milk or rendered fat to the custard.
- The baseline schedule uses a 35-minute custard bake. A 45-minute bake adds 10 minutes; continue longer in short increments if necessary to reach the stated temperature endpoint. Extensive crack repairs or a slower-heating oven also extend the schedule naturally overlap wherever possible, without shortening chilling or baking stages.
Equipment check
- 23 cm loose-bottomed metal tart tin, approximately 3 cm deep
- Sturdy metal baking tray large enough to support the tin
- Mixing bowls, table knife and whisk
- Kitchen scales
- Rolling pin and fork
- Wrapping material for chilling the pastry
- Baking parchment
- Approximately 600–800 g baking beans, enough to support the base and sides
- 24–26 cm frying pan
- Sieve, heatproof bowl and plate
- Pastry brush
- Small serrated knife
- Digital food thermometer
- Cooling rack
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
A dry, crisp pastry base supports a creamy, sliceable custard with smoky bacon. Blind baking on a hot metal tray, sealing the shell with egg and draining the bacon keep excess moisture and fat out of the pastry. A gentler oven temperature for the filling helps prevent a grainy custard.
Ingredient notes
Use a 23 cm loose-bottomed metal tart tin approximately 3 cm deep. A shallow flan dish may not hold the filling. Smoked streaky bacon supplies the custard seasoning, so no extra salt is added. Rindless smoked lardons can replace it by raw weight; cut large pieces to about 1 cm.
For a shortcut, replace the pastry flour, butter, salt and water with 350 g ready-made all-butter shortcrust pastry, retaining the dusting flour. Keep the lining, chilling, blind-baking and sealing stages, and reserve raw trimmings for repairs. Single cream is not a direct substitute for double cream here. Contains wheat/gluten, milk and eggs; check bacon and ready-made pastry labels for additional allergens.
Serving & storage
Serve warm after the rest, rather than piping hot. A sharply dressed green salad is an optional accompaniment, not included in the recipe. Refrigerate leftover slices promptly in shallow portions, within 2 hours of cooking, at 5°C or colder. Use within 48 hours or freeze sooner, following any shorter ingredient-pack instructions. Thaw in the fridge. Reheat only once, uncovered on a tray at 180°C conventional / 160°C fan, until steaming hot throughout; chilled slices usually take 15–25 minutes.
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