Why You Should Never Bake Quiche In A Pie Pan
Ever find yourself amazed by the mile-high slice of quiche lorraine you ordered at brunch? You may think to yourself ... hmm, my quiches never look like this. Baking a quiche is a tricky thing to do, really. You want the crust to stay flaky and melt-in-your-mouth good, without letting the egg filling sog it up. You also want a ton of flavor from the egg filling, with butter as a prominent player, while highlighting the colorful veggies you've mixed in as well.
There are several tricks professional chefs have up their sleeves. From choosing the right veggies for a less watery filling and pre-baking your crust before adding in the custard to the crucial egg-to-cream ratio and how to reheat it so it tastes like new — there really should be a masterclass for the dish.
But, what if we told you that a key component of restaurant-quality quiche is what type of pan you're baking it in? That's right, the type of pan determines the shape, structure, and wow factor of your buttery, eggy pie.
It's not deep enough
A springform pan is a much better choice for quiche, considering it is much deeper which yields a silkier crust with less risk of overbaking, according to Andrew Zimmerman. While most home cooks use a pie plate for their quiche, purists would consider this sacrilegious, as Food & Wine points out. Other chefs, such as Thomas Keller, also prefer a springform pan to a pie plate, seeing that you can remove the sides once the dish has cooled, to really show off your work.
A pie plate has slanted edges, meaning the distance from the pie crust to the top of the filling is different around the sides versus the center. This leads to uneven cooking, with the potential for overbaked edges and an underbaked center. The two-inch deep springform pan will cook your quiche evenly and give the ultimate mile-high slice that you order at brunch, making you feel like a pro in your own home. In fact, it requires a bit more filling, making each slice a little more decadent.
If you don't own a springform pan and need to whip this up quickly, Zimmerman suggests a make-shift alternative by lining a two-inch high metal pastry ring with parchment paper and setting it on a baking sheet (via RealSimple). Voila! In no time, you'll be hosting brunch in the comfort of your own home.