Another Gluten Free Pie Crust

I know a lot of people dread making pie crust. It has a reputation for being rather difficult to master. But a homemade pie is so delicious you really should give pastry making a try.

Really, I think the hardest part is knowing how much liquid or flour is enough. The weather can effect your baking and pie crust recipes may need adapted slightly in order to make them easier to handle. If you have never made one, this can be frustrating. But after a little practice, you’ll know what the dough should feel like and add more flour or liquid as required.

I have heard there are some gluten free pre-made pie crusts available now, but I haven’t tried any of them so I can’t tell you if they are worth eating.

What I can tell you is homemade gluten free pie crust is doable. I posted a recipe for my first successful attempt at one. And guess what? I have yet another gluten free pie crust recipe worth making.

Why do we need another one you might ask? Well, although the previous recipe tasted great I felt like the dough was a bit hard to handle. It didn’t roll out the way I would have liked and it required refrigeration, making the process lengthy.

Sometimes I don’t have a lot of time to prepare a pie, I just want to whip up a crust and filling and get it in the oven. And of course have it taste fabulous. No weird gluten free taste or texture.

This recipe is adapted from the pie crust recipe found in Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts. It’s a great cookbook by the way. I did change a few things, but overall her recipes are a great starting place for gluten free baking successes.

If you need an easy gluten free pie crust, give this one a try. And if you are completely new to making pie crusts, don’t despair. They don’t have to look perfect and they do patch easily (just use your hands to mend any torn areas). And pie crusts don’t require fancy fluted edges. If you don’t want to hassle with the fluting, don’t. I gave up fluting pies perfectly years ago. And you know what? No one has ever turned down a piece of pie. Seriously, pies are supposed to by homey, comfort food, not too pretty to eat.

*update: although I have made this crust several times, the last time I made it, it wouldn’t roll out nicely. I don’t know if it was the humidity, I measured something wrong, or what, but it wasn’t rolling. I just pressed it into the pan and baked it as usual. It tasted fine. So, if you are having one of those days, don’t throw it out, just press it in the pie plate and take a deep breath. It’s just food!

Unbaked pie crust, you can see where I patched it in several spots.

An apple pie with a crumb topping.

Easy Gluten Free Pie Crust

Personally, I don’t like my pie crusts sweet. But if you do, add 1 TB white sugar to the dry ingredients.

This recipe is a bit unconventional in that you partially pre-bake the shell before adding the fruit filling.

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour (I use Authentic Foods Superfine)
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 2 TB tapioca flour
• 2 TB sweet rice flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 TB Butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2-4 tsp orange or lemon juice

1. Spray 9-inch pie pan or tart pan with cooking spray and dust with cornstarch or white rice flour.
2. Mix flours, xanthan gum, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly.
3. Add egg and 2 tsp of juice. Mix on low speed until dough holds together easily, but isn’t sticky; if it does not hold hold together add the remaining 2 tsp of juice and mix again. Using your hands, form dough into a ball. Place ball on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper and  flatten dough to about 1 inch thickness.
4. Dust rolling pin with rice flour or cornstarch and roll out dough. Holding the sheet of parchment/wax paper, invert the dough into the pie pan. If the dough tears you can mend it (press another piece of dough with your fingertips until it is blended together well). Trim the crust around edge of pie and flute if desired (I just press a fork around the edges).
5. If you need to prebake the crust entirely (for a pudding pie), prick the crust several times with a fork and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden in a preheated 375 oven. Let cool on a wire rack before filling.
6. To use in all other recipes, it is suggested to partially bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes in a preheated 375 oven. Allow to cool and then fill with desired filling (I used apples) and return to the oven to finish baking (for apple pie I baked it an additional 50 minutes at 375). The crust turned out delcious and flaky this way so I highly suggest the pre-bake step!