I am so excited to tell you that pie is back on the menu! Last year at Thanksgiving, I didn’t have any pumpkin pie. And I missed it because I really love pumpkin pie. Since Thanksgiving is at the end of the month, I decided it was time to attempt to make a gluten free pie crust. I considered looking for a pre-made GF pie crust or pie mix, but I’m always happier with the results when I make it from scratch. So I decided to just go for it.
I used the pie recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook as a guide. Then I adapted it to make it gluten free. I chose to use part butter and part shortening for the fat. Must recipes will tell you that butter give the crust a good flavor, but shortening is what makes it flaky. Some recipes suggest using butter flavored shortening to get the good taste and flakiness. But, if you have been following my blog for a while, you probably will know that I don’t like “flavored” or artificial ingredients. I think it is better to use the real thing, which is why I bake with butter. So you know there was no way I was going to use a butter flavored shortening. As for shortening, it has only one redeeming quality in my opinion, and that is what it does for pie crust. I’ve tried making a crust with all butter and it doesn’t compare to the one made with shortening. And the one made with all shortening doesn’t have the flavor that the one made with butter does. So for this recipe, I decided to use both. And I am really happy with the result!
This recipe will be a little different that a traditional crust, after all it is made without wheat flour or gluten. But, I still think that it is a fine crust even if the edges don’t crimp. Who likes to crimp anyways? ? Just press the edges with your fingers and put it in the oven. And soon you too will be eating delicious gluten free pie. How easy is that?
Now, comes the hard part; you have to decide what kind of pie to make. Pumpkin, apple, cherry, chocolate…yum! chocolate pie! Gotta go! I think I need to go bake another pie. Enjoy!
HOMEMADE GLUTEN FREE PIE CRUST
1 1/4 c. brown rice flour
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. shortening
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cutting into small pieces
4 to 5 tbsp. cold water
Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the shortening and butter. Cut it in with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly.
Add cold water and mix in with a fork until all the flour is moistened and can be pressed together and form a ball.
Form the pastry into a ball and place on a lightly floured sheet of wax paper. Roll out into a circle about 12 inch diameter.
Roll the crust and wax paper around the rolling pin to roll the crust into the pie dish. The crust will crumble some. That’s okay, just press it back together when it is in the pie dish.
Fill the crust with your favorite filling and bake according to your pie recipe’s directions.
And if you want to make a double crust pie or two pies, just double all the amounts of the ingredients in the original recipe. This recipe doubles well and makes a delicious apple pie. Yum!