STARTING FROM SCRATCH: PIE CRUSTS – THE THIRD PIECE – GLUTEN-FREE CRUSTS

STARTING FROM SCRATCH:  PIE CRUSTS – THE THIRD PIECE – GLUTEN-FREE CRUSTS

Let’s face it, allergies and dietary needs for medical reasons are very real concerns in the kitchen and at table.  Several friends of mine have expressed an interest in both sugar and gluten-free recipes.  Where great strides and alternatives to sugars are widely available and can be used for both medical and dietary needs, a great number of pies require flour or like substances that are not gluten-free.  The sad reality is, a good portion people aren’t able to freely enjoy pie because of that issue.  So, to help remedy that situation, it’s hopefully beneficial to take a look at some gluten-free recipes.

Many of us may be familiar as to the reasons why gluten-free recipes are necessary, but to those who aren’t, allow me to elaborate.  Many people suffer from Celiac Disease, wheat allergies, and gluten sensitivity.  For more information on these particular conditions, I invite you to further educate yourself as I did by reading more about it here:  http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/health_articles/why-all-the-buzz-about-gluten-free.

For my gluten-free friends, and those looking for an alternative to wheat related products, I’m including several different recipes for pie crusts.  I hope these help you to enjoy pies as much as, if not more so than I do!

King Arthur Gluten-Free Pie Crust:

·         1 1/4 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or brown rice flour blend*

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         2 teaspoons Instant ClearJel

·         1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         6 tablespoons cold butter

·         1 large egg

·         2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar

Lightly grease a 9" pie pan.  Whisk together the flour or flour blend, sugar, ClearJel, xanthan gum, and salt.  Cut the cold butter into pats, then work the pats into the flour mixture till it's crumbly, with some larger, pea-sized chunks of butter remaining.

Whisk the egg and vinegar or lemon juice together till very foamy. Mix into the dry ingredients. Stir until the mixture holds together, adding 1 to 3 additional tablespoons cold water if necessary.   Shape into a ball and chill for an hour, or up to overnight.

Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling.  Roll out on a piece of waxed paper that's been heavily sprinkled with gluten-free flour or flour blend. Invert the crust into the prepared pie pan.  Fill and bake as your pie recipe directs.

Gourmet Gluten-Free Pie Crust  (As Featured in The New York Times):

·         1 1/4 Cup Almond Flour

·         2/3 Cup Gluten-Free Oat Flour

·         2/3 Cup Tapioca Flour

·         1/2 Cup Teff Flour

·         1/2 Cup Potato Starch

·         1/4 Cup Sweet Rice Flour

·         2 tsp. Xanthan Gum

·         1/4 tsp. Guar Gum

·         1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

·         5 Tbs. Butter, cold (or non-dairy butter sticks)

·         4 Tbs. Lard, cold

·         1 Egg

·         6 - 8 Tbs. ice-cold water

In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, teff flour, and potato starch. I use a whisk here, and slow down as I mix them, repeatedly, until they have become one flour. Add the xanthan and guar gums and the salt. Mix well.

Add small pieces of the ice-cold butter to the flour mixture, not much bigger than a pea. (Or, if you’d like to do as you see in the photos above, freeze your butter beforehand, then grate the frozen butter into the flours. Move quickly.) Afterward, add the leaf lard in small portions, of equal size.

Use your hands to scoop up the flours and mix in the fats. Go slowly. Rub your hands together. Feel the fats work into the flours with your fingers. I like to lift and rub, scoop and let them all fall through my fingers. You’ll know when you are done. You’ll feel done. The flours will look sandy now.

Combine the egg with 3 tablespoons of the water and whisk them together. Here’s where you can go two ways. If you want to do everything by hand, then do so. Add the eggy water to the dough. Work the dough together with your hands, or a rubber spatula, or whatever feels right. When the dough feels coherent, stop.

Wrap the pie dough in plastic wrap (or in a bowl) and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so. Take it out and roll out the dough between two pieces of waxed paper. Roll it out as thin as you can. Carefully, lift the top piece of parchment paper and turn the dough upside down on the top of a pie plate. Rearrange until it is flat.  Put the pie pan in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 325°. 

Once the oven has been heated, bring the pie pan out from the refrigerator. Fill the pie pan with your choice of filling. Put several pats of butter over the top.  Roll out the remaining pie dough between two pieces of waxed paper. Remove the top layer and lay the pie dough over the cranberries. Pinch the edges of the two doughs together, then crimp the pie dough.

Brush with an egg wash, if you want a golden crust. Make a few small slits in the top crust.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cranberries starting to bubble out of the slits on top, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the pie cool.

Gluten-Free Rice Flour Pie Crust:

·         1/2 Cup Shortening

·         1 1/2 Cups Rice Flour

·         4 Tbs. Cold Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut shortening into rice flour until crumbly. Add water. Work dough with hands until soft and form into ball.

Place dough in 8 inch pie pan and press it into the bottom and sides, use the back of a spoon or fingers.  

Use fork to prick the bottom of the crust to prevent buckling. Place crust in oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.