PIE... with gluten-free crust!!

I had to find a good g-free way of making pie crust. I mean, I just can't let the fresh fruit season go by without making some pies for the family. The teen is gluten-free, so it was imperative to come up with a recipe that works, and amazingly, I did.

Now, you diabetic readers, avert your eyes. I had one small piece, and yes, it elevated my sugar, but not as much as I thought it would. Still.... this is pretty much for those in the family who can handle the sweet treat.

There are two ways of making this pastry. I made it the first time with almond flour in there, but I made the second one without. I notice that the pastry was better with the almond flour in there, and easier to handle too. But it works without. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 cup chic pea flour
almost 1/4 cup almond flour (optional)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup cold shortening, chilled
cold water

(Yes, there was more xanthan gum in the recipe before, but I really don't think that much is necessary, so I cut it down to one tsp.)  At first i put all the dry ingredients into my food processor with the dough blade in there and pulsed it to mix.   But since then I've just been mixing it by hand with a good ol' fashioned pastry blender.  I find it's just better to keep it simple.  I put the all-vegetable shortening in the fridge before doing this. It really needs to be cold. If you aren't vegan, you can also use butter I'm thinkin'.  Anyway, I cut 1/4 cup off it the first couple of times and it worked fine, but then one batch came out kinda dry, and if you add too much water, it makes the pastry tough. So cut between 1/4 to 1/3 cup of shortening into cubes. Adding them 1 - 2 at a time and blend till you have a coarse crumbly mix.  Then I added a little cold water. It doesn't take much... add carefully, but err gently on the wet side rather than the crumbly side. You can always add more flour.  My BIL said he couldn't even notice the difference between my gf pastry and regular pastry. :) It really turned out nice.

Anyway, the machine only does so much, so you'll have to finish it by hand anyway. I made a ball of it, and set it on my pastry board, which was covered first with a piece of waxed paper and a light coating of arrowroot flour. I turned the pastry in the arrowroot, then placed another piece of waxed paper on top. Roll.

It rolls out really very well. When you have it the size and thickness you like (measure against the pie plate to make sure), peel off the top layer of waxed paper, turn the pie plate upside down over the pastry, slide your hand under there and turn. Gently remove the remaining piece of waxed paper and carefully shape the pastry to the plate, mending any splits or holes as needed with edge pieces. Trim carefully, fix up the edges the way you like, and fill. Use the leftover bits of pastry, rolled out again between waxed paper, to make shapes for the top. I used cookie cutters for this ~ worked great.
I used hearts for the first pie, little stars for the second. I tried to upload that picture, but this thang isn't working right. But just picture all those wee stars all over a pie!

The fruit mixture, of course, is a matter of choice and taste. Strawberry and rhubarb seasons coincide here, so it's a natural choice. I just added a few spoonfuls of brown sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice just 'cuz, and 3 tablespoons of the arrowroot flour. Use the sweetener and starch of your choice, not to mention the fruit! Some folks really like the raspberry/rhubarb mix too. And with the long weekend coming up ~ 1st of July here, 4th of July for my American friends... well, for you guys, picture an apple pie all covered with stars! I mean, Mom, there is nothing more American than Mom, apple pie and stars! :)

I hope this g-free pastry works as well for you as it does for me!