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I used to make quiche very often, but I really have a problem with dough, I want to reduce the amount of butter in the dough without making it very hard and unpleasant.

Is there any way to replace or reduce quantity of butter in the dough ? (use of olive oil instead or smth like that)

Dough Ingredients: (for 500g) 
190 g butter
4 g Of salt
5 ml of milk
250 g of flour.

The link is a video in french http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMI-btHsDc4

Imane Fateh
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  • Please describe what kind of dough or crust you are using for your quiche. A link to or the actual recipe would be helpful. Note that in most pastry dough, substituting hydrogenated vegetable shortening (such as the US brand Crisco) for butter will be successful, but you haven't said *why* you want to reduce the butter, so this may not be helpful to you. – SAJ14SAJ Apr 19 '13 at 09:50
  • I want to substitute butter because my husband doesn't like it :( – Imane Fateh Apr 19 '13 at 09:59
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    Ah, then I suggest you should change husband :-) Welcome to the site Imane. – BaffledCook Apr 19 '13 at 16:29
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    Thanks for welcoming me :D @BaffledCook, and thanks for the funny answer :) – Imane Fateh Apr 19 '13 at 19:10

3 Answers3

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According to the title of the video, which is all I looked at (my French not being that good), you are making a pate brisee which is a particular kind of pastry crust.

This pastry relies on solid fat in its construction method, so that it can be in little clumps in the dough. Then, it melts during baking forming a crumbly crust.

You will not achieve ideal results with any liquid shortening such as olive oil. Some viable options (which may actually achieve better results, depending on your desires) to substitute for all or part of the butter include:

  • Hydrogenated vegetable shortening (such as the US brand Crisco)
  • Lard
  • Beef tallow

Basically, any fat which is solid at room temperature (almost always animal fats, since typically only saturated fats are solid at room temperature) will do.

If you google "olive oil pastry crust", you will find recipes such as this one from Fuss Free Cooking which are not based on butter or solid shortening. You will get a different texture and outcome, but depending on your goals, you may find such as recipe to your liking. I cannot vouch for their quality, as I have not tried them. Obviously, they will have a different flavor from the oil rather than butter...

SAJ14SAJ
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  • Merci ! I will try the recipe this weekend and tell you how they taste. – Imane Fateh Apr 19 '13 at 10:25
  • I wonder about the olive oil. You might be able to solidify your olive oil in the freezer, chill all the other ingredients, use a food processor, refreeze before rolling out, and work quickly. – Cascabel Apr 19 '13 at 21:29
  • @Jefromi If you try that, please tell us the results! – SAJ14SAJ Apr 19 '13 at 21:47
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I just thought I should mention coconut oil as another substitute for fats that are solid at room temperature. I prefer it to the other alternatives mentioned because it is vegetarian, and much less processed then shortening.

It should be able to work in your dough much the same way as shortening - though its temperature range is a bit narrower than shortening, it will be very hard during the winter but can turn mushy (or, occasionally, outright liquid) in summer, depending on its storage. You might wish to treat it like a more forgiving butter and chill it before use, rather than a meltier shortening.

Yet another possible alternative might, maybe, possibly be used is red palm oil. I have seen it in a few stores, next to the coconut oil. As I have not used it myself, I can't attest to its use in baking... but I have seen jars that look like they might be solid at that temperature, and it is described as "semi-solid". Again, chilling may make it workable if it is only a little too liquid at room temperature.

I also thought of ghee, since that's also semisolid at room temp (and can be chilled harder) - but if you're avoiding butter, you may not find that suitable, though you might find it useful to check, as the flavors are not identical.

Megha
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I vote for lard, which makes a very tender and crispy crust.

If you want to make your meal a bit lighter, there are similar concoctions without any crust: French flan or Italian sformato. With these recipes it is important to cook them slowly in a cool oven, but they provide quiche-like satisfaction without the highly calorific crust.

Baba
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