Best Pie Crust

[wildwood]

This pie crust recipe is from an old post, but I wanted to resurrect it. I do not bake much in the order of cakes or cookies, but I am known for my wonderful pie crust. I have been experimenting with different gluten free recipes for a traditional two crust pie crust and this is by far the best. This will be my go to recipe for pie crust from now on. I baked a rhubarb pie and this crust came out just as good if not better than the gluten pie crust I used to make. I used rice powder that I purchased at our local oriental market. Thanks Ipellegr!!!

lpellegr, on Jul 24 2006, 12:02 PM, said:

I don't use any of the premade mixes, but I can give advice on making your own. For the graham cracker crust, find any good gluten-free cookies and crush them. I used Pamela's pecan shortbread for a cheesecake and it was really good. As far as real pie crust, are you used to making your own, so you understand how to cut the shortening into the flour and then add water a little at a time to pull it together? If you can do that, this will work for you. The best gluten-free crust recipe I found that actually compares well with a normal pie crust is the Vinegar Pastry (Revised) from the Gluten Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman, with my version of the instructions below.

1c white rice flour (I recommend the fine kind you get at Asian markets)

3/4c tapioca flour

3/4c cornstarch

Note: you could probably substitute a commercial gluten-free flour mix for the above.

1 rounded teaspoon xanthan gum (check to see if this is included if you use a mix)

3/4t salt

1T sugar

Mix all the dry ingredients above in a medium bowl. Cut in with a pastry blender:

3/4c shortening (like Crisco) until crumbs are like rice in size, maybe a little smaller.

Mix together:

1 egg lightly beaten

1T vinegar

Add these to the flour/Crisco until blended. Then sprinkle in, 1T at a time, 2-3 T ice water. It may take more or less, the goal is to add just enough that you can gather the dough in a ball that doesn't break apart into dry crumbs and isn't wet and slimy. After adding 2 or 3T, gather the dough with your hands and decide if it needs more. It's okay to squeeze it a little. When all the dry crumbs are incorporated, you're done. Divide it in two and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 min to firm it up. When ready to use, roll each out between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap dusted with gluten-free flour. Peel off the top sheet, lay your pie pan on the dough, upside down and centered, then put your hand underneath and flip it over so the dough is in the pan. Pat it into place, then peel off the plastic. Now you can shape the edge and follow your recipe for the filling of choice. If you're going to prebake it, use 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. You can also freeze the balls of dough and thaw them later - they still work fine. All the gluten-eaters proclaimed this pie crust as good as my old ones at the last two Thanksgivings. Hope this helps!

[lpellegr]

I'm glad it works for you! We have Bette Hagman to thank - this is from the first gluten-free cookbook I bought, "The Gluten-Free Gourmet". It really is good. Save all the scraps after your crust is made, bake them separately, smear them with grape jelly and pretend you have Poptarts!