Homemade pie crust…those words make people cringe. I. have. been. there. Especially with gluten free pie crust!
I’m in the kitchen, covered with flour and a pile of dough that was supposed to be a crust. There is nothing more frustrating than disasters in the kitchen.
And, agh, a pie wasn’t even worth my time. It’s never been a favorite of mine. I am a dessert kind of girl but other than a mandatory slice of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, I could pass it up.
Until I had a pie crust made with butter….oh.my! Total bliss! I have never had a pie melt in the mouth like that.
It takes a bit of time and patience but once you get the process down, pie crust isn’t so intimidating.
- 2½ cups of gluten free flour mix
- 2 tbsp. of evaporated cane juice crystals (This is optional)
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 2 sticks of COLD butter
- 6 tbsp. of very COLD water
- Mix salt, flour and sugar
- Cut butter into flour until mixture is course.
- Slowly add cold water, a little at a time until the dough pulls together
- Sprinkle a bit of flour on your counter and your rolling pin.
- Cut dough in half and roll out one crust at a time.
A few helpful hints:
Make sure your butter and water are COLD! If they are room temperature, it’s hard to get the right consistency and then it’s easy to add too much water.
Add the water a bit at a time because the amount used is never quite the same, depending on the temperature and weather.
If your dough gets a bit too warm, put in the refrigerator to cool off a bit before rolling out.
When rolling, keep your pin covered in flour.
To pick the dough up after rolled out, gently roll it over your pin and then unroll over your pie plate.
You can use a food processor, it makes it easy to see when you’ve added enough water if you pour it in while the mixer is mixing because you can see it pull together. However, the pie crust will not be as flaky.
Once you have the pie crust on the plate and ready to go, place the pie in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before baking. It makes for a more flaky crust. (This is a tip from my Grandma.)
While this may seem like a lot to remember, once you get going, I think you’ll find it easy. And pie crust is forgiving!! I have had many a pies pieced together looking kind of funky…but, if your pie tastes good, believe me, nobody will care! 😉
What are your favorite tips for making a good pie crust?
Jessica
Tips from my kitchen – a GF flour blend made with at least 50% sweet (aka glutinous, but not gluten-containing!) rice flour lends the best flaky texture to GF crusts.
Try substituting 1/4-1/2 rendered leaf lard for some of the butter. If you thought butter crusts melted in your mouth… The challenge is that the lard seems to warm up faster, making the dough harder to work with as it softens.
I use a marble rolling pin, and no amount of flour seems to prevent it sticking to the crust, so I roll my dough between two layers of extra-wide saran wrap. It’s reliable, but a bit annoying as you have to keep peeling off both sides and re-setting the wrap as you roll, otherwise it ends up stretching with the dough and tearing.
Great tips!
I have done half lard for crust and you are right, it’s good. (Except when your lard gets old and it tastes like bacon….then it’s not so good. Don’t ask me how I know this….) 🙂