Gf/df/sf Pie Crust Recipe

[burdee]

I want to make a lemon meringue pie for Easter, but I have NEVER made a gluten free pie crust. I also must avoid dairy and soy. So I can't use butter or vegetable (soybean) oil in the recipe. I do have the "Spectrum Naturals" palm oil shortening which I hope to substitute for butter. Does anyone have a no fail (or pretty easy for amateurs) recipe for gluten-free/DF/SF pie crust?

BURDEE

[angel-jd1]

Gluten free pantry has a great pie crust mix. Not sure if it is Free of all the things you need, but might check it out. We use it for lemon meringue pies all the time!!

-Jessica

[kabowman]

I use the regular pie crust in Haggman's book - "Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods" which I think calls for vinegar but I just add a little extra water due to a yeast (hense no vinegar) intolerance.

As for the butter, I use a palm oil solid instead of crisco or butter due to soy and dairy intolerances myself. It works fine and even friends didn't notice much difference (except the palm oil has a unique flavor but doesn't come through in the actual pie - only when you are making the shell). I can't remember the flour combination but check the book out of the library...

I found a site that said you can replace butter even with liquid or solid oil depending on what the receipe calls for (melted butter, use normal oil, etc.) and it has worked well for me.

I even use white rice flour to replace dried milk in receipes with no problems.

-Kate

[gf4life]

This is the BEST pie crust I have every made, even pre-gluten-free! It is gluten free, and dairy free and can be made soy free as well. Enjoy your pie! ~Mariann

Pastry Recipe for Pie Crust

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch flour

1/4 cup potato starch flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

4oz (1 stick) margarine (see below***)

1 large egg, beaten (or use 1/4 cup extra ice water if allergic to eggs)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or water if you can't use vinegar)

3 tablespoons ice cold water

*Mix flours, salt, and xanthan gum in a bowl. Rub in the margarine, but not too much. The mixture should resemble baked beans rather than breadcrumbs.

*In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, vinegar and ice water. Slowly stir the egg mix into the flour mix, until a ball is formed.

*Knead the pastry (with a little gluten-free flour if needed) for 2-3 minutes.

Wrap the pastry and place in the fridge for at least an hour. **It can be frozen at this stage.

*If the pastry is a little hard when removed from the fridge, knead again a little bit.

*Roll out on a floured surface. Place in pie pan and follow baking instructions for your pie recipe.

*If cooked pastry is needed for your recipe the pastry can bee cooked at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

***substitute Spectrum Naturals Organic Shortening to make it soy free. This is a non-hydrogenated, trans fat free vegetable shortening made from palm oil.

[burdee]

THANKS, Mariann!! Just one question ... Can I use the "Bob's Red Mill" gluten-free baking mix, rather than the 3 types of gluten-free flours? I hate to buy those individual ones, since I bake soooooo seldom.

BURDEE

[gf4life]

Can I use the "Bob's Red Mill" gluten-free baking mix, rather than the 3 types of gluten-free flours?

I don't see why not. Let us know how it works with the BRM flour blend and the shortening. It might even work better!

[gf4life]

Just bringing this back up, so if anyone needs a good pie crust recipe for Thanksgiving this one is super easy and works great. And don't worry about the vinegar. You can smell it when it is unbaked, but you can't smell it or taste it baked. The crust comes out perfect and can even hold it's shape when cut. It doesn't fall apart, but it is still flaky.

[Yenni]

I am gonna take a stab at that crust too. I am an amature baker so we'll see how it turns out.

I saved it in Word. Thanks for sharing this!

[gf4life]

One thing I forgot to put in the recipe that you might want to take note of is that if the ball of dough isn't sticking together (too crumbly), then you can add a little bit more ice cold water until it is a nice flexible dough. I have found that different measuring cups measure out the flours a little different and sometimes you end up with needing a bit more liquid.

Also it helps to roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper, this way you don't have to flour the counter or the rolling pin and make the crust more dry...