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23 November 2009

gluten-free pie crust

pumpkin pie ready to bake


(We're thrilled that this recipe is being featured at Oprah.com's roundup of holiday recipes for 2009. For more of our featured posts, visit Oprah.com today.)

I love making pie.

There's no need to tell you more about this. I've written about pie so many times before on this site. Each year, I've created a pie crust that has come closer to my Platonic ideal of pie crust, the flaky butter wonder of a crust that holds pumpkin filling or summer blackberries or raspberries right off the vine. No one has complained. No one could tell these pies were gluten-free, really. But I wanted more.

In the past few months, while working on recipes for our cookbook, Danny and I felt like we cracked the code. These days, we feel — we're making real pie.

It feels good under my hands.

measuring by weight

If you're growing serious about gluten-free baking (or baking of any kind), you must buy a food scale and start baking by weight. Please do.

This pie you see before you? We put it together by ounces (or grams), not by carefully scooping and leveling off with a knife. It's so much more precise this way. When I give a recipe in cups, you might substitute brown rice flour for sorghum. Did you know that brown rice flour weighs more than sorghum? (158 grams to 127 grams.) Your pie crust will be denser than mine. You'll blame the recipe.

That's why the recipe you'll see below gives the measurement in ounces for each flour. If you're going to substitute flours, just use the same amount of ounces. That way, you can adapt this recipe, easily. Whatever combination of flours you use (or even a mix, which is fine!), just make sure you sift in a total of 16 ounces. You won't have exactly the same pie, but you'll have some mighty fine pie.

mixing the flours

One important step, something that slows me down and forces me to focus on the process, is to mix all the flours together before I add anything else. See all those different colors? Those flours have different textures. Do you want one bite of your pie to be a lump of teff, and another to taste like potato starch?

Mix them until they are one flour. (This is fun. I promise. There's a kind of magic to this, watching the individual flours disappear into the greater whole.)

adding in the lard by hand

Now, no one will ever solve the "what fats make the best pie crust" debate. All butter? All Crisco? All lard? All oil?

In this house, we have switched, after nearly a lifetime of all butter. It's half leaf lard, half butter. The flake, the taste. With this crust, and this combination, it is hard to go wrong.

Leaf lard, however, is vastly different than the lard you buy packaged in the grocery store. It's slowly rendered fat from around the kidneys on the pig. It's high in everything that is good in lard, particularly the taste.

If you can't find any near you, buy some fat from a pig farmer at your local farmers' market. If you want to learn how to render your own lard, check out this post from Ashley at Not Without Salt. Beautiful.

grating the butter

My dear friend Tita taught me a good trick for pie, something she learned because she didn't plan ahead. Making a pie one day, she realized that all her butter was in the freezer. So, she pulled out a stick and grated the frozen butter into the dough. Worked like a charm. The butter just kind of melted into the flour, in a good way.

We've done this with every pie since. Most of the time, I use a Microplaner, so the butter is super fine. But it clumps up a bit. Here, we used the regular grater. And it worked out just fine.

sandy dough

So much of making pie is by sensory experience. The lard and butter should be cold, the water should be cold, and the dough should feel good in your hands.

After I add the cold lard and butter into the dough, I work it all together with my fingers, sifting and feeling, rubbing and letting it fall back into the bowl, until it feels done. Until the flours and fats have mingled, and it all feels like a sandy beach after a light rain.

I love this part.

Now here, recently, I have changed my mind. For my entire life, I have made pie dough entirely by hand. But through a fluke happening, when a dough felt too dry, I turned on the Cuisinart food processor. I'm convinced.

Tonight, I read a comment on the NY Times Dining blog, about Julia Child's conversion to the Cuisinart: "Julia comments that both her editor, Judith Jones, and her colleague, Simca, each bought a food processor immediately after seeing one in action and quotes Judith as saying 'If only for the pie dough...it's worth the price to me.'

Me too.

And so, after sifting and slowly watching the dough turn sandy, I move it all into the food processor, where I whirl it up and drizzle in the liquids. The dough is always more complete this way.

dough ready to rest

The finished dough looks like this. Not too dry or flaky. Moist without being wet. If you put your finger in it, there will be an indentation, but your finger will not come out sticky. Just right.

crimped edges

I love crimping pie dough. It's one of my favorite forms of meditation.

Lu and I make pie together

These days, it is easier and easier for me to remember: none of this has to be perfect.

If the pie dough falls apart, just stitch the dough back together in the pie pan with your fingers. There's no gluten in it. You can't overwork it.

If the dough isn't entirely what you want, you can make another pie.

If all gets a little burnt, or the bottom crust falls apart, chances are that people will still eat it.

This is all about the process and sharing it together.

It's pie.




cranberry pie

Gluten-Free Pie Crust
plus a recipe for Cranberry Pie, from the wonderful Kate McDermott

Danny and I both feel privileged to know Kate McDermott. Wonderfully wise and kind, Kate also has the hands for making pie. Her Art of the Pie class offers her wealth of experience and gentle nudgings on how to make world-class pie. Everyone who takes it loves that afternoon and carries away the memory of making the best pie of their lives.

If you can eat gluten, sign up for one of her classes, right now.

Kate and her husband, Jon Rowley (one of our favorite people, especially for Little Bean), came over to our home this summer to work on gluten-free pie crust. You see, Kate can't eat gluten. Or dairy. She teaches other people how to make pies, but she can't eat them anymore. We've been determined to come up with pie crust that would make Kate happy. We've been happy with it, then happier every time we make it.

I'm humbled to report that Kate, (and Jon) last night enjoyed this gluten-free, dairy-free pumpkin pie we made them. Tonight, Jon wrote about that top photograph, on Flickr: "
I had a piece. Excellent." That's high praise from Jon.

Instead of making you wait for our cookbook, we want to share this today. (However, you should understand that we'll never be done tweaking. It's yours to play with now.)



Gluten-Free Pie Crust
1 1/4 cup (5 ounces) almond flour (this is not the same as almond meal)
2/3 cup (2 ounces) gluten-free oat flour
2/3 cup (2 ounces) tapioca flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) teff flour
1/2 cup (3 ounces) potato starch
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sweet rice flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons butter, cold (or non-dairy butter sticks)
4 tablespoons leaf lard, cold (see note below)
1 large egg
6 to 8 tablespoons ice-cold water

Cranberry filling
4 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter


Mixing the dry ingredients
. 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.

Adding the fats. 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.

Making the sandy dough. 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.

Finishing the dough.
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.

Or, you can do what I have reluctantly realized makes gluten-free pie dough even better than making it by hand: finish it in the food processor. Move the sandy dough to the food processor and turn it on. As the dough is running around and around, drizzle in the eggy water. Stop to feel the dough. If it still feels dry and not quite there, then drizzle in a bit more water. If you go too far, and the dough begins to feel sticky or wet, sprinkle in a bit of potato starch to dry it out. Again, after you make pies for awhile, you'll know this by feel alone.

Making the crust. 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 parchment paper. This means you won't work any extra flour into the dough. Roll it out as thin as you can. Thinner. Thinner. Come on, you can do it — thinner still. 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.

If the dough breaks, don't despair. Simply lift pieces of the dough off the counter and meld it with the rest of the dough. Remember, there's no gluten, so you can't overwork the dough. Play with it, like you're a kid again. Place the pie dough in the pie plate and crimp. When you have a pie dough fully built, you are ready to make pie.

Put the pie pan in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 325° and make the filling.

Making the cranberry filling. Put 3 cups of the cranberries in the food processor and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Transfer them to a bowl. Add the remaining cup of cranberries. Pour in the sugar and cornstarch. Stir. Toss in the nutmeg and salt. Stir. Taste to make sure the filling matches your expectations of tartness and sweetness.

Bring the pie pan out from the refrigerator. Fill the pie pan with the cranberry filling. Put several pats of butter over the top.

Roll out the remaining pie dough between two pieces of parchment 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.

Please eat pie.

Makes 1 pie, with enough crust for bottom and top.

Some good sources for leaf lard:

-- your local butcher
-- a pig farmer at your farmers' market
-- Dietrichs Meats, a Pennsylvania Dutch butchers that sell products online










48 Comments:

At 1:05 AM, Blogger theater simpleton said...

my eyes love 'tasting' this. I am looking forward to teh rest of my following suit.
(Giving thanks for you, Shauna. And for the generous hearts you and Danny possess.)

 
At 4:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope this will be in your next cookbook? This pie crust looks like a dream. It's going on to my to-do things this week. Apple pie coming up. As for my cuisinart processor, wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China. And, great idea for grated butter.

 
At 5:55 AM, Blogger Kim - Affairs of Living said...

This is a beautiful post! Both poetic and a wonderful example of technical writing- a hard combination to come by! I love the suggestion of grating the butter, and the food processor is TOTALLY the way to go. I can't do xanthan, almond, or egg, so this absolutely perfect looking crust is off limits to me - but I'm glad it is out there in the world for those who can eat it! Thanks for sharing, and have a wonderful thanksgiving. -Kim // affairsofliving.blogspot.com

 
At 6:37 AM, Blogger LMP said...

Seven months ago I learned I'm allergic to wheat. Really allergic. I am an avid baker of all my own bread and I make cakes and other goodies and all of that relaxes me and makes me feel happy. So, even though I really wanted to embrace this as an opportunity to learn a whole new thing, for 7 months I've basically been pouting. I found your site via NPR at the very perfect time - just as I'm coming around to the positive. I'm really enjoying it, thank-you so much for sharing all this wonderful information so artfully and with such delightful photos! My pie-making grandmother would have just loved you.

 
At 6:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shauna - I am allergic to almonds and saw that Bob's Red Mill has Hazelnut Flour/Meal (yes, they call it both on the label). Do you think I could substitute - after a run through my food processor to make it extra fine? Or would you substitute something else?

 
At 7:09 AM, Anonymous 4 Square Walls said...

While I love your posts and the idea that gluten free could taste good, I can't possibly deal with all these flours. I'd need a whole cupboard to store all the different types of flour, and an extra hour to bake anything that includes them all. There just HAS to be an easier way. Still hoping...

 
At 7:10 AM, Blogger Allison the Meep said...

That crimped crust edge is so beautiful! And WORD on mixing the dough in a food processor! I always do that with my pie dough, because it seems to incorporate the fats better than just a pastry cutter would. The crust ends up being more smooth and cohesive instead of crumbly. Also, I suck at putting the dough into the pie pan gracefully, and almost always rip it. Good thing nobody ever sees the bottom of a pie!

 
At 7:19 AM, Blogger Laura said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I am not gluten free but as a baker with customers and friends who live gluten free I started experimenting and trying new recipes. I was not able to find guar gum, and in a gluten free bread baking book I read that you can substitute xanthan gum
for guar gum, 1 to 1. What is your experience? What is the role of these two products? Thanks for your response.

 
At 7:22 AM, Anonymous Sho said...

Shauna,

My nana's recipe called for lard. I think it may have been beef lard--not sure.

I am not much of a bread fan, so I just made a pumpkin pie that was crustless. I added a quarter cup of rice flour (and a little more) to the mixture. My husband said it may have been his favorite pumpkin pie ever. It was good to have him admit that GF food can also be delicious.

I made a mistake in this pie. I bought sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated. I just used it with a little extra milk. Maybe that was why my husband like it so much.

However, with that lard you are using in your piecrust, I am not sure I could resist. It is so true that lard makes the piecrust. I was always able to tell when there was no lard in the crust.

Take care,

Shoshannah

 
At 7:41 AM, Blogger Nina said...

I'm embarrassed to admit that I bought the pre-made GF pie crusts at Whole Foods yesterday. For some reason I thought it would save me time, even though Whole Foods is 50 miles away! But we love pie also and I will definitely be making this crust soon. And I LOVE the tip about grating the butter -- that is a real keeper!

Another keeper is the photo that shows your sweet baby girl's hand in the pie crust making. I melted when I saw that!

 
At 8:59 AM, Anonymous Sallie said...

Can I use duck fat or goose fat? I brought it back from London and would love to try it. What do you think?
Off to see Claire, Isla and Maisie next week! Can't wait.

 
At 9:50 AM, Blogger Real Food, Real World said...

I'm right there with you on the leaf lard, and I can recommend Flying Pigs Farm (www.flyingpigsfarm.com) as another wonderful source - beautiful pigs raised in a happy and humane way, and great pork products.

There was also a NY Times article a little while ago that discussed the use of different types of lards/animal fats in pie crusts, so Sallie, if you're curious, you might check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/15crus.html

 
At 9:59 AM, Blogger Aryn said...

Rather than lifting the crust, I've found that it works better for me to turn the pie pan upside down on top of the crust and then flip them both right side up together. Then I slowly peel back the plastic wrap and smooth it into the pan.

 
At 11:05 AM, Anonymous heather @ chiknpastry said...

Hi Shauna,

I don't have cd, but I cook gf often as i have a good friend with CD. plus, I really enjoy cooking for special diets. i've never bought a whole list of different flours but tend to buy the Bob's mixes - do you have a mix preference or a couple of flours to recommend that wouldn't involve buying a whole list of them?

just curious! thanks for all the guidance!

 
At 11:34 AM, Blogger evil cake lady said...

now this, this is pie dough. i am excited to start playing, thank you!!

(ps--YAY for weighing ingredients!!)

 
At 12:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I noticed you use both xantham and guar gum in most of your baking. What is the difference in these two products? What is the benefit to using both. When I looked them up they sound like they are interchangable.

 
At 1:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can you use just all butter if you are deciding to make this at the last minute and can't get the lard?

 
At 1:34 PM, Anonymous Amanda said...

You've done it again!

Every time I read one of your beautifully written esaay-recipes, I get teary. The amount of love and joy that clearly goes into your cooking is inspirational! Thank you for sharing your experiences.

 
At 1:54 PM, Blogger sweetpea said...

If I had to limit myself to a single flavor, a single taste it would be cranberry. I am simply crazy about cranberry. I am not likely to make my own pie crust, and Nina I love Whole Food's crust. But alas, it is only the bottom, not the top. What are you going to do about that? I freeze butter and then grate it into a Hungarian Tart and it is a great trick! Now, bring on that non alcoholic cranberry punch!

 
At 2:44 PM, Anonymous Sigrid Bach Sorensen said...

Hi :)

Thanks for the recipe, it sound very very good!
You mentioned that your friend can’t eat dairy, and I was wondering how you would make the pie crust for her? Without butter?

Have a great day,
Sigrid

 
At 4:32 PM, Anonymous secretnatasha said...

I'm a little confused. You say the crust isn't "too flaky" (I can't imagine a too-flaky pie crust!) but how is it flaky at all, when you're working all the butter into the flour? There won't be any distinct layers of flour and fat to make the lovely flakes...or maybe you prefer tender pie crusts?

The idea of baking by weight is a really good one. I've got to start doing that.

 
At 8:08 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Does anyone know, to follow up with the first comment, if cashew flour would work and how do you make cashew flour? DH has a tree nut allergy and we can't use tree nuts--he didn't react to coconut would that work?

 
At 12:14 AM, Anonymous june2 said...

@umami: Cashew *is* a tree nut, in case you need to know that. You make it into flour by grinding raw cashews into a powder in either a food processor, (not too long or it will turn into nut butter), or in small, 1/4 cup batches in a spice grinder. I used to make raw cookies with cashew flour using the spice grinder. Takes a while, but it works and it's fresh.

 
At 7:35 AM, Anonymous Katriona MacGregor said...

Not quite related to your pie crust (which I can't wait to try) but I found some delicious gluten free lebkuchen biscuits in a shop the other day - they're a German gingery spiced soft biscuit, almost like a cake. I really want to find a gluten free recipe for them, any ideas where to start?

 
At 7:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shauna,
Thank you! I've been commissioned to bring the pies to my mother-in-law's for Thursday. I found your site because of this crust recipe, but I hope to turn to it (and your book) as a regular resource.

The photo of the tiny helping hand made me gasp- just beautiful.

the best to you,
Julia

 
At 8:31 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

The recipe sounds great, but I want to tell you how much I love the picture of you crimping the pie crust with the little one's help. What a beautiful image –down to the scalloping on her sleeve mimicking the edge of the crust. Amazing. That is what Thanksgiving and cooking is all about. Thank you.

 
At 10:12 AM, Blogger Shauna said...

Anonymous,

I don’t know how the recipe would work with hazelnut meal. But it’s worth a try! Do you have a kitchen scale? As long as you can replace the same amount of weight, this is more than worth the try.

LMP, I’m so glad that you are here. And I would have loved to meet your pie-loving grandmother.

Kim, don’t give up on the recipe. Substitute guar for xanthan (don’t go more than 2 teaspoons). Try more teff and sorghum for the almond. And there are plenty of egg substitutes. I want you to have pie.

Cottagesweet, we’re going to leave the recipe right here. We have two tart recipes in the cookbook. This one deserves its own place.

Allison, thank you! I’m convinced too. Food processor is the way for me from now on. (If you get the right ratios of flours to fats, you can roll this out and it won’t break!)

4 Square Walls, oh sure, you can do this easier, which is important if you are new to this. You can use the flours you have at hand, or even a mix, as long as you use equal weight of your flour combination as this one. We’ve been at this for years, and so we know the flours well. We’re trying to provide the best pie crust we can.

Sho, a crustless pumpkin pie works well too! Good leaf lard is a wonder. And there’s something wonderful about making your own pie crust.

Laura and Anonymous, I’m going to do a post on this soon. Briefly, guar and xanthan serve the same function, but they are different. They seem to work well in conjunction with each other. Recently, I started adding a bit of guar, where I would have only used xanthan in the past. The baked goods have a better bite for it.

Nina, don’t be embarrassed. This is about the gathering, the laughter, and what we can bring. Make it easier on yourself. I miss you, so. Let’s talk soon.

Sallie, Duck fat or goose fat? You are our kind of woman! Yes, I think so. Make sure you have more butter than duck fat, or else the poultry taste will dominate. And I would do what I did with the lard — stick the fat in the freezer for 20 minutes before you use it, so it doesn’t melt. Give a huge hug to those girls for us. Xoxo

Real Food, Real World, thanks for the resource! I’m always on the lookout for good leaf lard sources for people. And somehow I missed that NY Times piece, so I’m eager to see it.

Aryn, That’s exactly what I do too. Somehow, I didn’t mention that. We use parchment paper, which seems to roll off easier. That’s a great tip.

 
At 10:12 AM, Blogger Shauna said...

Sigrid, thanks for asking this. I forgot to mention that, didn’t I? We used Earth Balance buttery sticks instead of the butter. Wonderful. And we used evaporated goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk. The taste was fantastic.

Amanda, thank you so much. Have a wonderful holiday.

Anonymous, of course you can use all butter! It will still taste fantastic.

Heather, we are always playing with new flours. But when we’re making something fast for ourselves, not something for publication, we reach into the giant tub of flours we keep in the kitchen: equal parts sorghum, tapioca flour, potato starch, and sweet rice flour. It works for almost everything.

Evil Cake Lady, yes! Play away. It’s really great. And I am converted. Everyone needs a kitchen scale.

Sweetpea, that is the problem of buying the crusts. Luckily, most people want pumpkin for Thanksgiving, and that doesn’t require a top crust. And the punch is coming!

Secretnatasha, actually, I said the dough when it’s ready isn’t too flaky. I should change that to say it doesn’t flake. When it’s too dry, the dough itself just sloughs off in bits. Not good. It’s almost impossible to get the same kind of flake in the finished crust when it’s gluten-free, because it’s the gluten that allows you to build up those layers of flour and fat. But there is some. Of course, I don’t work all the fat into the flour. As I wrote, the final dough before adding the liquid is sandy, with little pea-shaped pockets of fat. The crust is tender, with some flake.

Umami, someone already answered this for me. But be sure that the cashew is okay for your husband!

June2, thanks for the answer on that!

TD428, thank you. I feel the same about that photo. Danny snapped it as we work. Most of the time, he has a better eye than I do. That’s what Thanksgiving is for us too — giving and being with the people we love.

Julia, I’m so glad you found us. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in that pie!

Katriona, oh goodness, I don’t know yet. We’re going to do a big holiday round-up of gluten-free treats in the next few weeks. Can you send me a gluten recipe you trust?

 
At 2:59 PM, Blogger Cheryl Arkison said...

Fantastic! I am constantly in awe of your testing and skills at combining just the right ingredients to give you what you want GF.
Pie. Mmm, pie.

 
At 7:58 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Ahh, I love your pictures. They capture the spirit of love, food, and family... And may I say your photos have always been amazing, but I think they are getting even better (how is that possible?)!

 
At 12:46 PM, Anonymous Eileen said...

Thanks for the wonderful recipe and photos! I especially appreciate the tip about subbing by weight, and your giving the total flour weight so I don't have to figure it out! The butter grating trick is wonderful, isn't it? We learned it several years ago from Cook's Illustrated and have used it ever since. Something so simple but such a difference! We get a little more flakiness and tooth by adding in a bit of Orgran's GFG.

For the folks who're the record we do wish for a simpler flour solution: it is a change but though we sometimes with for a bigger fridge for the many whole-grain flours we use there are a lot of recipes where it's just worth it. Start slow and try it when there's not so much time pressure and it'll be easier to work your way into it.

 
At 4:43 PM, Blogger Lauren said...

I adore making pie crusts. Definitely relaxing! Love the pictures in this - they're stunning. The pie is gorgeous as well =D.

 
At 5:49 PM, Blogger melissajanae said...

Happy Thanksgiving All -

We used this recipe for our pumpkin pie and just tried the finished product -- it was fantastic! I was a little worried, as we don't have a kitchen scale and we had to substitute some of the flours, but it turned out really well.

Also, for the commenter who asked about coconut, we used coconut flour instead of teff and it worked fine.

Now I just have to learn how to make such a pretty crimp on the edge.

Thanks for the recipe!

 
At 7:02 PM, Anonymous Kate MCDermott said...

Dear Shauna and Danny- When we make a pie to share with friends, we are sharing the love that we have inside of us. I am honored to know you not only as fellow culinary processionals but as dear friends. I look forward to many more GF pie adventures together where we pour the love in our hearts into pies to share together and with our loved ones.
Kate McDermott
www.artofthepie.com

 
At 2:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for this recipe! I look forward to making a gf pie crust for our next pie. I also want to solidly plunk myself down into your "half leaf lard, half butter" camp. We get ours at the U District farmers' market (from Seabreeze Farms - you know them!). It makes such a wonderful pie!!! After years of fiddling around with every fat you can think of, I'm so relieved to find myself back with a "basic"...long forgotten by most modern folks.

 
At 1:29 PM, Blogger Bridget said...

Love love love the photo of the little hand and the pie crust. Gorgeous.

 
At 9:18 AM, Blogger zinnia said...

I used a mix of flours--it was actually labeled pancake mix, but had nothing in it but non-gluten flours, a bit of baking powder and soda, salt and Xanthan gum. I measured it out by weight, used all butter (didn't have lard) and the result was pretty awful. The slightly bitter taste I attribute to the baking powder and soda (I didn't notice this ingredient when I decided to use the mix) but the texture--well, in spite of using an egg mix on the bottom before the fruit went in, it was gummy on the inside, both top and bottom crusts. I bake good pies and pie crusts using regular all purpose flour so I am not certain if the problem was just the flour mix with the risers in it, or if there is something else--perhaps the baking temperature too low? 325 is lower than I would normally use. Just wanted to give you the feedback--I may try it again with the flours you list. Zinnia

 
At 8:24 AM, Blogger glutenfreemama said...

Mmmm...mmmm....mmmmmm!!!! Hubby and I picked 20 lbs of blueberries this past weekend and the boys were craving pie! I used your crust recipe, substituting sorghum flour for the oat flour I don't have (and yes, using the scale was wonderful!)
I did use all butter and no guar gum as I don't have that either, but the crust was scrum-diddly-umptious!!!
I decided to use your filling recipe as a guideline as well, substituting blueberries for cranberries, adding some pumpkin pie spice and cardamom and cutting back on the sugar a bit....all I can say is WOW!!
The boys are grateful, hubby is happy, and I am delighted with your great blog, your hints (weighing the ingredients and substituting using weight measures instead of cup measures!!) and your wonderful writing style and recipes!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 
At 4:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Total total failure. The crust is so crumbly I couldnt even get it into the pie plate. It was back to my very beginning gluten free days of pressing a crust into the pie plate. Back to the drawing board on this one....

 
At 4:50 PM, Anonymous Karen said...

Thank you so very much, Shauna. I baked a lattice-top apple pie for my grandparents when they visited recently and they gave me that ultimate compliment: "I wouldn't have known there was anything different about this if you didn't tell me." :D It was beautiful and all I kept thinking while making it was "Holy crap, I'm making a pie!"

This one is *definitely* getting made again! :D

 
At 9:35 PM, Blogger Angela Webb said...

I just saw your blog and I am looking forward to trying your pie crust recipe. My formal culinary training is traditional french cooking, but my wonderful husband has a gluten allergy. I am so happy to have stumbled onto your site. BTW, I love the photo of your baby's hand in the pie. That's the way to teach them. Best of luck and I'll let you know how my pie crust turns out.

 
At 9:41 PM, Blogger Angela Webb said...

I am so happy to have stumbled onto your site. My culinary training is traditional French with all of its wonderful tarts and crepes and breads, but my wonderful husband has developed a gluten allergy. I look forward to trying your pie crust recipe. You may have saved our marriage. Best of luck to you.

 
At 6:33 PM, Blogger evy said...

On bottom crusts....if you can make your top crust pretty and roll-able so the edge is what you want it to be with just that crust, the bottom crust done as a press in crust is a quick shortcut :) evy

 
At 8:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can this pie crust be frozen before it is baked?

 
At 7:11 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

.Gluten Girl I think I love you. You keep it fun without skipping details. Today will be my first punkin' pie ever! First pie, even! Leaf Lard may be a challenge, tho. Wish me luck.
Gman

 
At 7:52 AM, Blogger peach202 said...

Hello - I'm a little confused about the flour measurements. The oat and tapioca are 2/3c or 2 oz then the teff is 1/2c or 2 oz then the sweet rice flour is 1/4c or 2 oz. Is that the difference between weighing the flours and using measuring cups or is that possibly not right. Thanks for the clarification - Happy Turkey Day!

 
At 3:22 AM, Blogger pbryant199 said...

Did you mean to include the sweet rice flour to these instructions or am I supposed to be using it for something else?
In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, teff flour, and potato starch.

 
At 12:04 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I just made this pie crust last night, with few variations...I used coconut flour in place of teff flour, and sweet sorghum flour in place of the sweet rice flour. I have egg sensitivities, so I used egg replacer instead of egg. I also used coconut oil instead of lard. I'm sure the leaf lard would have been better, but I still came out with a wonderful, tasty, flaky pie crust!!

 

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