Oil Pie Crust?

[MNBeth]

I just brought my MIL a tub of Bette Hagman's Dream Pastry Mix, as she is going to be making some Thanksgiving pies for us. She has always made oil pie crust instead of using shortening or butter. We were hoping she'd get away w/just subbing the dream pastry mix in her regular recipe. Does anyone know if that will work for her?

[MaryJones2]

I am thinking chilling the oil until it's solid would work. I sub oil all the time for stuff that calls for solid fat but have never tried it in a pie crust. I think the difference in flours (lack of gluten) might be an issue for a traditional oil crust.

[RiceGuy]

I've never used solid fats in pie crust, gluten-free or not. They always turn out fine.

The nice thing about gluten-free crust is that since there isn't all that sticky gluten, you don't need so much oil. So, I'd say the key is in how much oil to use. The flours involved do make a difference too, as do the other ingredients. I never use mixes, so I can't say exactly, but with pie crust you can always add more oil until the consistency is right. Therefore I'd start with about 3-4 tbsp, and work up from there. Most gluten-free crust recipes I've seen call for about 1/2 cup (I never use that much), so I don't think it should take more than that.

However, please be advised that wooden cutting boards, wooden rolling pins, wooden spoons, flour sifters, etc cannot be reliably cleaned of gluten. If someone with a kitchen full of gluten is going to make gluten-free stuff and expect it to be safe, there are many precautions to take. The entire area needs to be thoroughly cleaned beforehand. Pots and utensils should be cleaned with gluten-free soap, using new sponges/scrubby pads. Obviously, the sink itself should also be cleaned properly before washing those dishes. I don't know how much a dishwasher could be trusted to do a proper job - never seen one work anywhere near as good as a human being. I've seen posts saying it works ok, though I suppose it depends on a person's sensitivity.

[MNBeth]

Thanks for tip about using less oil; I'll pass it on.

I do generally avoid letting other people cook for me, but my MIL is somewhat OCD about her kitchen. There's never a crumb anywhere, and, as a sort of bonus, she hardly ever cooks anymore, much less bake, so there isn't likely to be flour all over everything like there always was in my own kitchen before I went gluten-free.

I'm pretty sure she just uses a fork to mix the dough, and I am going to ask her to roll the pie dough between pieces of plastic or wax paper, so I think we'll be pretty safe. Believe me, I thought long and hard before I settled on this plan! The other celiacs in my extended family have dubbed me the "gluten police."