So you’ve gone gluten-free. Or your grandson or daughter’s boyfriend has. And here it is Memorial Day weekend, and you haven’t made your family’s favorite lemon meringue pie – or blueberry, or apple or strawberry pie – all because you don’t have a gluten-free pie crust recipe you can count on. One that doesn’t taste like cardboard. Or garbanzo beans. One that doesn’t fall apart before you can get it into the pie pan.

Take heart. Here’s the gluten-free pie crust you’ve been looking for. I created it myself. Why? Because I love to bake! And well, I just don’t do gluten anymore.

It took a while, but now I have a crust that tastes buttery, light and flaky. Plus, it’s super easy to transfer to my pie pan. So go ahead. Get out those family recipes. And bake a pie!

This pie crust is a big improvement over my earlier attempts. I use xanthan gum and flax meal as binders, so when I swoosh in the liquid, those dry ingredients pull together like magic.

(Note: If you don’t already have all the ingredients on hand, you’ll need to check out your local natural foods store. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is my go-to source. They carry Bob’s Red Mill flours, including arrowroot, and also package their own brown rice flour, flax meal, and xanthan gum, all required for this recipe.)

*BAKING TIP*  Roll dough between two pieces of parchment paper.  First, spritz  paper with a light coat of cooking spray. Lay the bottom sheet on counter top. Set the ball of dough on top. Then lay top sheet over. Begin rolling. Take your time, and don’t roll the dough too thin. When you have a nice circle, peel off top sheet of parchment paper. Lay the crust evenly over pie pan. Peel off the second sheet.  Pat neatly around the inside. 

Crimp edges all around by gently pinching dough between middle and index fingers and pushing in with thumb. It’s that easy!

*BAKING TIP * To make sure your crust doesn’t bubble up: Cut a sheet of aluminum foil to fit the pie pan, including the edges. Gently lay foil over the unbaked crust. Fill the bottom with a handful of beans or pennies – maybe 25. The beans or pennies act as a weight to keep your crust flat.

For a “refrigerator” pie, bake the crust through to a golden brown, cool, and add filling.

 

GLUTEN-FREE PIE CRUST

Preheat oven to 325° F

Mix together dry ingredients:

2/3 C brown rice flour

1/3 C arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

1 tsp. xanthan gum (sold at health food stores)

¼  tsp. salt

Cut into dry ingredients (or use food processor):

6 Tbs. butter

In a small bowl, mix and let stand for 5 minutes:

1 Tbs. ground flax

3 Tbs. cold water

Add water and flax mixture to bowl with dry ingredients. Quickly gather dough into a ball. Do not overwork.

Gently roll dough into a circle between the two sheets of parchment paper.

Peel dough off parchment paper and press into  9” pie pan. Place pie pan on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.  Remove from refrigerator. Cut a piece of parchment or lightweight aluminum foil and place inside the pie shell. Trim if too much paper exceeds the edges.

Place the cookie sheet with pie pan in preheated oven on the middle rack.  Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and penny weights. Return to oven for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the crust is firm and lightly brown. (Note: GF crusts don’t often brown as well as wheat flour crusts.)

For quiche: raise heat to 350⁰ F and bake 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 325⁰ F and bake another 20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. (I take my quiche out before it’s completely set, because it continues to bake while outside the oven.)