When I first found out I had celiac disease, most days felt easy except for when the holidays came around. Back in 2016, it was a lot harder to find gluten free products, or recipes, that actually tasted like the holiday food I grew up and loved. The most difficult part of Thanksgiving for me was not having a pie with a delicious crust. Most gluten free recipes for pie crust were soggy, sad, and didn’t taste like the real deal.
Lucky for us celiacs, gluten free flour blends have come a LONG way, and it is now easy to make the perfect flakey and gluten free pie crust because of it. I have been making this gluten free pie crust recipe for all of my pies for the past few years, and it really tastes like the real deal! No more sad holiday pies! If you follow these tips and recipe, I guarantee it will be your new fave gluten free pie go to.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Gluten free 1-1 Baking Flour – this is the most important ingredient of the whole recipe! Picking the right flour out for this recipe will be essential. You want to find a gluten free flour that is 1-1, this means that it requires the same ratio that an all purpose flour would. You also want to make sure this flour blend has xantham gum. Xantham gum is what helps hold the flour and pie ingredients together, and mimics what gluten does. Gluten is like glue, and is why doughs stay together. Without xantham gum, it will be crumbly and fall apart. My favorite flour blend is Bob Redmill’s Gluten Free 1-1.
- Salt and Sugar – these are for flavor! Best to use a kosher salt and granulated sugar.
- Cold butter – we need cold cubed butter in this recipe to help the dough form together, and also allows for the flakey crust. An oil would be too liquidy, and wouldn’t give the flakeyness we want.
- Ice cold water – this helps keep the butter cold and helps form the dough together.
Key Steps to Making a Gluten Free Pie Crust:
- Ideally you use a food processor, however you can mix with your hands as well! Hands are harder obviously because they are higher temperature, so it can melt the butter, which we want to keep cold!
- First mix / pulse the flour and salt to combine.
- Add the cold butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas, or do this with your hands.
- Add, 1 tbsp at a time, cold water until dough forms.
- Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out. You need to do this to keep the butter COLD, cold butter = better flaky crust! You can also make and store up to 3 days ahead, or even freeze!
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SERVINGS: 1 pie crust (only the bottom)
- PREP TIME: 10 Mins
- COOK TIME: 20 Mins
- TOTAL TIME: 30 Min
Ingredients:
- 1.25 cup Bob Redmill’s Gluten Free 1-1 Flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar (only if making a sweet pie)
- 8 tbsp cold, cubed butter
- 2-4 tbsp ice cold water
Preparation:
STEP 1.
In a food processor, add the flour and salt and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse until combined and butter is in small pieces the size of small beans. Turn on the food processor and add 2-4 tbsp of cold water until a dough forms, adding 1 tbsp at a time. Stop once a dough is formed.
STEP 2.
Flour your counter and turn the dough out on the counter. Using your hands, form the dough into a disk, then wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out, and up to two days in advance. If refrigerating longer than 30 minutes, let it sit at room temp for 5-10 minutes before rolling out.
STEP 3.
On parchment paper, roll the dough out to pie thickness. Make sure it is on parchment paper so you can easily pick it up and turn it onto the pie pan after. Gluten free crust doesn’t roll up like normal crust would, so we have to flip it onto the pan. Measure with a pie tin and make sure you have two inches past the pie tin. Roll onto a buttered pie tin, cut away excess hanging off the end, and crimp the edges.
STEP 4.
If filling the pie and you wish to bake first, heat the oven to 400*F. Line your pie crust with parchment and dried beans or pie weights and bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the beans and parchment, then bake for another 8 minutes until golden brown. Remove and finish the pie with fillings of choice.
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