A pie to die for: crust and filling

Welcome to this (hopefully) monthly cooking column! My name is Ben, and I ran the home-delivery bakery “Hveiti og Smjör” (Icelandic for Flour and Butter). The editors have asked me to try to work up our collective kitchen skills, and two of my passions are teaching and baking, so I am really excited.

These first few articles are going to cover some basics before we move on, and this first one: Pie crust. This recipe is so simple, but it opens up a world of options. Pie crust allows desserts and mains like quiche. So pull up a chair and impress your next date (or your current partner) with some new cooking skills.

As a quick background, baking employs the Maillard reaction, which according to Wikipedia just means, “a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned foods their desirable flavor.” This can be understood more simply as the flavor change that comes from toasting something, normally bread, but also steaks. This is where that delicious flavor of toast comes from that is not present in untoasted bread. This is also the primary flavor change once cookies are baked, as well as dough like pie crust!

Pie Crust
Recipe Type: Baking
Cuisine: American
Author: [url href=”https://gayiceland.is/author/ben/” target=”_blank”]Ben Chompers[/url]
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Pie crust is super simple. It has literally only five ingredients and takes only minutes to make. In the US and other nations, pre-baked pie crusts are readily available at most grocery stores, so it is a battle to convince some people that home-made is superior, but here in Iceland, I have yet to see pre-made pie crusts, so this is your ticket to fame and fortune! (or at least a tasty dinner)
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 100 grams of butter
  • 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
  • a bowl of ice cold water
Instructions
[b]Crust[/b]
  1. Take a plastic bowl, add the flour and salt and mix well (If making a dessert pie, you can add a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of cinnamon, but it’s not necessary).
  2. Next add in the butter after cutting it into cubes. Using a [url href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastry_blender” target=”_blank”]pastry blender[/url] (available at most kitchen supply stores) or a regular knife (which will take much longer) “cut” the butter into the flour. Your goal is to end up with pea sized lumps of butter.
  3. Next comes the ice water, which is what will now bind this into an actual dough we can roll out. Add a little at a time, mixing very gently with your hand until it all comes together. Err on the side of dry dough rather than wet glop.
  4. On a dry surface (I use a nice vinyl mat) powder with flour (a shaker with large holes, filled with flour, makes quick work of dusting a surface with flour so dough doesn’t stick)
  5. Roll out with a floured rolling pin. You should still be able to see large chunks of butter in the dough (these will turn into flaky pockets)
  6. Do not overwork the dough. Your goal is to get a large enough disc to fit in your pie plate. Choose a pie plate with fluted rim if you can, it will “hold” the dough when baking. A flat sided pie plate will allow the dough to sink in toward the bottom when baking.
  7. Fit the dough disc into your pie plate, and pull off any extra that sticks out, using it to repair any gaps or edges that don’t come up high enough. Now put in the fridge for as long as you can wait (preferably 1-4 hours, overnight is fine too). This will let the dough “rest” and the butter to re-chill after being worked, which will again allow for a flakier crust that holds its shape when baking.
  8. Preheat your oven to 220°C (430°F) while the dough is chilling, pull the dough out of the fridge, poke the bottom well with a fork (or it might bubble up while baking). To be super sure it does not slide down the sides, line the dough with aluminum foil, and then fill with dry rice or beans to act as weights that emulate the actual pie filling that will come later. I sometimes skip the foil/rice step and it comes out fine, but your mileage may vary. Then slide it in for 8 minutes, or until lightly brown (this could take up to 20 minute depending on how thick you rolled it out). Pull it out and let it cool while you make the filling.
[b]Filling[/b]
  1. Depending on your pie dish size, you’ll have to adjust the number of eggs and cream to use, but a good rule of thumb is to use equal amounts egg and cream. Mine fit three eggs and a small 250 ml carton of cream. I then added about 1 cup of shredded cheese. All of the filling for quiche is flexible, as long as there is enough egg to bake into a solid.
  2. I put the egg/cream mixture in first, then sprinkled in the cheese, and added in the cooked bacon and onion on top, doing a little bit of mixing with a fork so that egg mixture got on top of the toppings.
  3. Bake between 15-45 minutes. 15 for wide thin quiches like this one, and 45 for a really deep quiche dishes to make sure the eggs bake solid.
  4. Allow to cool for a bit, 5-10 minutes, then serve. Top with sour cream and serve with veggies and a starch (bread or potatoes).
Notes
Why lemon juice? Well I will tell you! Gluten is present in white flour, and is where the elasticity in bread comes from. While we want lots of long stretchy gluten chains in soft bread and pizza crust, pie crust is much better flaky. We start by using a low gluten flour like all-purpose (though cake flour can work even better, it has less gluten to start with) and then add lemon juice, which is an acid, which breaks down the gluten chains even further. You can skip the lemon juice and the crust will still bake fine, but it will taste flakier and more crust like with it.[br][br]The key is to NOT mix the butter in too much. Start with cold butter, and that’s also why we use the ice water instead of just cold tap water.[br][br]Some filling ideas: pumpkin pie, berry pie, sauteed mushroom with caramelized onions and goat cheese tart, or quiche Lorraine. I will publish some of these other recipes later, but this one will be how to make quiche Lorraine, though the last step when I add the fillers can be replaced with nearly any filler you desire. [br][br]For this crust, I decided on an Americanized Quiche Lorraine. I used bacon chunks instead of ham, and caramelized onions, as well as some homemade Colby cheese that my husband made.

 

 

Á. Óskarsson
Á. Óskarsson

Á. Óskarsson offers a variety of products and services to sports centers, swimming pools, schools, kindergartens, and the general public. The company specializes in sport-related products, activity-focused games, and a wide range of solutions for sports facilities.

Á. Óskarsson has been involved in numerous big projects related to building sports facilities and has made it their benchmark to offer good quality products and equipment since the company was founded.

See links to social media in the upper left-hand corner

—————-

Á. Óskarsson selur fjölbreytt vöruúrval fyrir íþróttahús, sundlaugar, skóla og leikskóla og einnig ýmsar vörur til einkaafnota. Fyrirtækið selur vörur til íþróttaiðkunnar og leikja ásamt því að bjóða upp á ýmsar lausnir fyrir íþróttamannvirki.

Á. Óskarsson hefur komið að fjölda stórra verkefna við byggingu íþróttamannvirkja og hefur frá stofnun kappkostað að bjóða vandaðar og endingargóðar vörur.

Tenglar á samfélagsmiðla eru í efra horninu vinstra megin.

Webpage/vefsetur

Blush

    Blush was founded in 2011 when it started selling high quality sex products. The goal from the beginning was to change the market and take the discussion about sex products to a higher level. Today Blush provides professional services in a pleasant environment that fulfills different needs, both for individuals and couples. Blush respects diversity and wants to set a good example in all of its messaging to target audiences. Sexual health and equality in sex is important and Blush wants to focus on those issues through education and open discussion. Blush works in a socially responsible manner for society, their customers and the environment.

    Check out Blush’s website: https://blush.is/

    Omnom Chocolate
    - award-winning chocolate maker

      Omnom Chocolate is an Icelandic craft chocolate company based in Reykjavík. We produce handcrafted chocolate from organic cacao beans sourced ethically and sustainably. We’ve developed direct relationships to create premium chocolate with fine flavor cacao beans.

      Our creative flavors are carefully crafted by meticulous chocolate makers. The cacao beans are roasted, winnowed, ground, and refined into melty-smooth chocolate.

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      In only a few short years, we’ve grown from our 50 sq. m. petrol station space and become an award-winning chocolate maker. Now, with our headquarters in 101 Reykjavík, our chocolate is sent out around Iceland and all over the world.

      At the end of the day, our goal is to make chocolate.

       

      Nasdaq

         

        Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence.

        With over 4,300 employees in 39 offices around the world, at Nasdaq we all contribute to the success of the company and its culture, and each one of us has the ability to make a difference. When it comes to our core mission and values, we embrace the role of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) as a fundamental driver of our corporate growth, workplace culture and market development. We strive to create a culture that embraces the power of different perspectives—a culture where people’s unique backgrounds and different experiences helps us fuel innovation and support our clients around the world.

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        Blue Lagoon
        - One of the 25 Wonders of the World

        Named by National Geographic as one of the 25 Wonders of the World, the Blue Lagoon is a shimmering expanse of warmth, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Its unique geothermal seawater
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        Achieving harmony with the volcanic landscape, the lagoon and its surrounding architecture embody the unification of the man-made and the natural, and adhere to the highest principles of sustainability.

        The Blue Lagoon. A wonder of the world. A world of wonder.

        Landsbankinn
        - leading financial institution
        Landsbankinn

        Landsbankinn is a leading Icelandic financial institution. It offers a full range of financial services and is the market leader in the Icelandic financial service sector with the largest branch network.

        The present bank was established on 7 October 2008 but the history of its predecessor dates back to 1886. The bank is owned by the National Treasury of Iceland, which holds 98.2% of its share capital, and other shareholders who own 1.8%.

        Landsbankinn’s strategy is to provide comprehensive financial services that meet customer’s needs. It emphasizes providing exemplary service to customers, developing e-banking for their convenience, increasing the efficiency of support functions, modernizing its technology and ensuring effective utilization of its balance sheet.

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        Landsbankinn wishes to lead the development of a sustainable society in Iceland by integrating economic, social and environmental concerns in its operations. The Bank aims to ensure that both its owners and society at large benefit from its activities.

        It intends to achieve this aim by building solid infrastructure and a strong team of 1.100 employees, by listening to its customers and by respecting and encouraging its employees to actively participate in their community. Landsbankinn was a founding member of Festa, a Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, and is a member of the UN Global Compact.

        Landsbankinn has been a proud sponsor of the Reykjavik Pride since it was first celebrated in Iceland.

        Dohop
        - get inspired
        Dohop

        Dohop allows people to find the cheapest flights available with just one click. Founded in Reykjavik in 2004, it is the only Icelandic company of its kind and quickly became the go-to tool for finding cheap flights among the locals. Dohop finds the best deals among hundreds of different airlines and online travel agencies, to make sure that the user is getting the cheapest price. Dohop also offers hotel and car rental search engines, so users can make all of their travel bookings from a single website.

        Dohop‘s specialty is finding so-called “self-connect” flight options, which can save travelers money by booking a ticket through two or more different airlines. The ability to look for these self-connect option is what sets Dohop apart from its competition, as it can save people hundreds of dollars on certain routes.

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        VSÓ Ráðgjöf

           

          VSÓ Ráðgjöf er alhliða ráðgjafar- og verkfræðifyrirtæki sem leggur áherslu á trausta og faglega þjónustu sem tryggir viðskiptavinum hagkvæmustu lausnir hverju sinni, skilar raunverulegum árangri og stuðlar að samkeppnisforskoti.  Á skrifstofum VSÓ í Reykjavík og í Noregi starfar yfir 80 manna samhentur hópur verkfræðinga og annarra tæknimenntaðra starfsmanna.

          Macland
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          Ísey skyr
          - once tasted never forgotten

          Our Story
          Once upon a time, 1,100 years ago in fact, Nordic settlers began arriving in Iceland. They brought with them the skills and knowledge for producing skyr. As time passed, the know-how and recipe for this nutritious food slowly faded out elsewhere in the Nordic region. Luckily, the Icelandic skyr-making tradition continued.

          For centuries, Icelandic skyr formed a cornerstone of the national diet, helping to keep people strong in living conditions that were often harsh. On family farms countrywide, it was the women who nurtured this dairy and passing on both the recipe and the original Icelandic skyr cultures from mother to daughter.

          Ísey skyr builds on this remarkable legacy. It was some of those very same women, the recipients of their mothers’ expertise, who, around 90 years ago, taught Icelandic dairy scientists the art of skyr-making. The production process is more high-tech these days, and the quality standards more rigorous. However, the basic recipe and the use of original cultures to ferment the skimmed milk remain the same. Protein rich, fat-free, creamy and delicious – Ísey skyr is as relevant to consumers now as it was all those centuries ago.
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          You can read more about Ísey skyr on our website.

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