I know that my first recipe post was a pie crust, but I find that one good for single crust pies, not double crust ones, as it didn’t stay together as well. This crust, however is really wonderful, as unless you fold it, it stays together really well. Just don’t freeze it on a sheet, that’s bad. Anyways… here goes.
Jackie’s Wheat Free Pie Crust
from the book pie pie pie – makes enough for one 9 inch single crust pie. To make a two crust pie, double the ingredients.
Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/2 cup corn starch
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 egg, chilled
A few drops of cold water, if needed
Steps
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, salt, and sugar. Process for a moment to mix the ingredients evenly. Add the butter, and process in rapid on-off pulses until the mixture resembles fine meal. With the motor running, add the egg through the feed tube, and process just until the dough barely holds together in a ball. If the dough seems dry, add a few drops of water. Dust your work surface with brown rice flour and scrape the dough through it. Push and pat into a cake about 4 inches across. (Then the book suggests to put the dough in the fridge for an hour. I would not recommend this unless you have a very hot kitchen, as the dough becomes way to stiff to roll out, at least for me. I would put it in the fridge for 20, maybe 30 minutes)
Place the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and roll it into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Rotate the dough and turn it over occasionally to get an even thickness, and to try to keep the shape as round as possible. Peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and flip the dough into a 9 inch pie plate, so that the plastic wrap is up. Peel off the second sheet of plastic wrap. Press and pat the dough evenly into the pan. If it tears, push it back together, and use trimmings from the edge to patch any holes. Trim and flute the edges. Then, ONLY if you are making a single crust pie, place in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
For a fully baked pie shell:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Make the pie crust as specified above, but before putting into the freezer, prick the dough all over the bottom and sides with a fork (to prevent air bubbles). Prick it about 100 to 120 times.
So the dough will hold it’s shape, press a 12 inch square of heavy duty foil snugly into the pie shell, over the bottom and sides of the dough. Bake for about 8 minutes, until the edges of the dough are beginning to look dry but not browned. If they still look wet, bake the shell a few minutes longer. Then remove the foil and bake for 6 to 10 minutes more. Check a few minutes after you remove the foil, and if the dough is puffed in the centre, prick it with a fork to deflate. The shell is done when it is light brown and looks dry all over. It is fragile now, but will become crisp as it cools. It also doesn’t matter if it has shrunk a little bit. Let the shell fully cool, then fill as directed in the recipe.
For an unbaked pie shell:
Follow the directions of the recipe.
Enjoy this crust, as it is very versatile, and somewhat reminds me of a wheat flour crust. Very good, and of course, gluten free!
xoxo
Lauren
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