Olive oil pastry (dairy free)

Wholemeal olive oil pastry is a light, crispy, rustic pastry perfect for quiches, savoury pies and tarts. It takes only 10 minutes to make and is ideal for anyone looking for a dairy free or vegan alternative to traditional shortcrust pastry.

Why you'll love this recipe

• It can be prepared in around 10 minutes.
• It is light and crispy with a nutty flavour.
• There is no need to roll out the pastry dough.
• It is made using wholesome ingredients.
• Vegan and dairy free.

I decided to make pastry using olive oil as a lighter, healthier alternative to traditional shortcrust pastry. Unlike pastry made using hard fats, you do not need to spend time rubbing the fat into the flour and do not need to roll out the dough.

Use it to make dishes such as Mediterranean quiche, cheese and tomato galette, summer vegetable quiche, mushroom and leek quiche or these individual vegetable quiches.

You may also like to take a look at some of these other easy pastry recipes including wholemeal pastry using butter, sweet shortcrust pastry which is perfect for desserts, sweet pastry without eggs or sweet almond pastry. And if you plan to make any pastries using filo pastry, see how to use filo pastry for useful tips and recipe ideas.

Ingredients

• Wholemeal flour - for a rustic, nutty flavour.
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) - a lighter and healthier alternative to butter.
• Water
• Salt

How to make pastry using olive oil

Measure the flour and salt into a bowl and mix.

Add the olive oil, stir using a fork until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add water a little at a time until you have added enough to bind the dough together.

Line the quiche dish

Transfer the dough to the quiche dish.

Press the dough into place to cover the base and sides of the dish to an even thickness.

Storage instructions

• This quiche crust can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• Freeze for up to 1 month. Line a quiche dish, wrap and freeze. Defrost at room temperature before using.

Variations

• Swap white flour for wholemeal flour, or use a mixture of both.
• Use spelt flour for gluten free pastry.

Does olive oil pastry need to be blind baked?

• If you are using this pastry to make a quiche or other baked dish then it does not need to be blind baked. The pastry will cook at the same time as the filling.
• If you are going to fill the pastry case with a filling that does not require baking then the pastry case should be blind baked - line the base of the pastry with baking parchment, cover with dried beans and bake at 180^oC for around 15 minutes.

Tips and troubleshooting

• White spots on pastry - could be due to (a) solidified fat which may appear after the pastry has been chilled. These are harmless and will disappear when cooked. Or, (b) clumps of flour which haven't been mixed in well enough.
• Dough too dry - add a little more water.