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Giant bacon and gruyère quiche

A very large quiche suitable for a hungry brunch crowd
Course Main Course
Cuisine Canadian, French
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Blind bake time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 925kcal
Author shallimus

Equipment

  • Rolling Pin
  • 11"x3" springform pan
  • Thermometer

Ingredients

  • 454 g Unsalted butter I used the nice stuff
  • 454 g Cake flour Lower protein flour for reduced gluten formation
  • 250 ml Cold water
  • 20 Eggs (large)
  • 2000 ml Milk 3%
  • 200 g Emmental cheese, grated
  • 200 g Gruyère cheese, grated
  • 1 bunch Chives, chopped
  • 2 tbsp Salt Avoid salt with very big crystals
  • 454 g Bacon, smoked
  • 3 Shallots, sliced

Instructions

Pie dough & blind bake

  • Combine salt and flour in a large bowl.
    454 g Cake flour, 2 tbsp Salt
  • Cut cold unsalted butter into thumb-width cubes.
    454 g Unsalted butter
  • Toss butter cubes in the flour mixture to coat them.
  • Working quickly to avoid letting the butter warm up too much, squash the butter cubes flat.
  • Use a spoon or fork or something that isn't your hand to search for any butter lumps which might need a bit more squashing.
  • Add the cold water, and bring the dough together into a shaggy ball.
    250 ml Cold water
  • If the dough is warmer than 21ºC / 70ºF let it sit in the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes before proceeding.
  • On a large and generously-floured surface, roll out the dough into a roughly 45cm / 17in square.
  • Fold the dough into equal thirds, in from one side, then in from the opposite side
  • Fold the narrow sides of the dough rectangle into third again, to make a tall folded square
  • If the dough is warmer than 21ºC / 70ºF let it sit in the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes before proceeding.
  • Flour dough and work-surface generously, and roll the dough out again, into more of a circle this time, 48-52cm / 19-20in diameter.
  • Center the dough circle over the springform pan, and let it gently fall into the pan.
  • Cover the inside of the crust with foil, including the edges.
  • Gently press the dough to meet the shape of the springform pan. The edge of the dough should still overhang by an inch or more.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 175ºC / 350ºF.
  • Cover the exposed dough with foil, including the overhang/edges, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  • Place the springform pan on a large baking tray, and bake for 60-75 minutes.
  • While the crust is blind-baking, prepare the quiche filling.
  • Check for pastry smell and golden-brown edges.
  • Remove the foil, use a fork to make a few small holes in the base, and bake for a further few minutes. This helps prevent any bubbling or uneven rising in the base.

Prepare quiche filling

  • Cook the bacon, fairly crispy, and chop it finely as soon as it has cooled. Cook chopped shallots in the bacon grease.
    454 g Bacon, smoked, 3 Shallots, sliced
  • Crack the eggs, measure volume as you go. 20 large eggs should add up to ~1000ml.
    20 Eggs (large)
  • Add the milk to the eggs in the bowl, and whisk until the mixture is uniform.
    2000 ml Milk 3%
  • Once the blind-baked crust is ready, stir in salt and pepper, then pour a small amount of the egg-milk mixture into the crust, just enough to cover the base, and place it in the oven for one minute on top of a baking sheet. This will help seal any holes left by the fork, which might otherwise leak.
  • Remove the crust from the oven, gently pour in the egg-milk mixture. Now sprinkle half the cheese, then all of the bacon, then the rest of the cheese and the chives into the mixture, distributing evenly.
    200 g Emmental cheese, grated, 200 g Gruyère cheese, grated, 454 g Bacon, smoked, 1 bunch Chives, chopped

Bake the quiche

  • Leaving the oven at 350ºF / 175ºC, place the quiche in the oven on top of a baking sheet.
  • After 45 minutes, rotate the quiche 180º.
  • After 60 minutes, check for a wobble. The whole filling should move as one. If it ripples instead, it's not ready. If the crust edges look dark, cover them with foil while the quiche finishes.
  • Check every 10 minutes or so. If the top starts to brown before the ripple becomes a wobble, cover it with foil.
  • Once the wobble is set, remove the quiche from the oven and allow to cool.
  • Release the springform pan slowly, but it should come away without sticking due to the butter in the crust.

Notes

This recipe is for a giant quiche. Is it the world's biggest quiche? Of course not. Some French chefs made a 2000 egg quiche in 1997 and then had to deal with the disappointment of the Guinness Book of World Records apparently refusing to recognize their achievement, even though there is a record for the largest cheese pie.
Still, this is a big quiche. It is bigger than any quiche you are likely to find for sale in a supermarket or deli, and it might be the biggest quiche you've ever seen in person. It's delicious, and it stores well for at least 48 hours. It might stay nice for longer, but, well... we ate it.
This recipe can be broken down into three sections. The first two take work, and the last one just requires that you hold your nerve and keep an eye on progress:
  1. Pie dough & blind bake
  2. Prepare quiche filling
  3. Bake the quiche
The pie dough and blind bake instructions are stolen from inspired by Stella Parks, who unlike me actually knows what she's talking about.
The custard prep will have you cracking 20 eggs, which seems like a lot, and it is.
Finally, it's probably best to allow plenty of time for this whole enterprise so you don't fall asleep on the sofa at 3am while you're doing the final bake.