Gluten Free Pie Crust

No gluten free people actually ate this pie crust.  In fact, I think I'm the only person who ate this pie crust.  You may be surprised, but I'll tell you a secret... this is not the first time I made something and then ate it all by myself.

I made this pie crust to serve at my book club gathering with the lemon meringue pie dip you finally get to hear about tomorrow.  Unfortunately, my GFF (Gluten Free Friend) had a last minute work emergency and was not able to join us for book club so everyone ate the dip with the regular pie crust I told you about yesterday.... Not that we all couldn't have eaten this version.  It was very tasty and I doubt anyone would have noticed the missing gluten if I hadn't told them.

This crust did taste different than my regular pie crust but I think that had more to do with the lemon juice that's in it than the gluten free flour.  However, the lemon flavor went just perfectly with the lemon flavor of the dip.

The texture of the crust was great - it held up really well for dipping and it was light and crispy.  I've heard that a lot of gluten free pie crusts tend to be super crumbly and fall apart, but I didn't find that to be the case with this recipe.  I think it might have to do with the addition of the fruit pectin or Instant ClearJel (which BTW is not packed in GF facility so may have trace amounts for those of you who are super gluten free).  I think this ingredient helps the crust stick together - fruit pectin is used to make jelly so its "jelling" quality is useful.

So, even though this recipe has not been GFF approved, I still think it's a good one.  I'm sure I'll make her a pie again eventually and will get her seal of approval (or not).

Gluten Free Pie Crust

Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes enough for a single pie crust

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
2 T Sugar
2 tsp Fruit Pectin (or Instant ClearJel, optional)
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Salt
6 T cold Butter
1 Egg
2 tsp Lemon Juice or Vinegar
1 T Cold Water


Instructions

Whisk together the flour or flour blend, sugar, fruit pectin, 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, lemon juice and water together till very foamy.  Mix into the dry ingredients.  Stir until the mixture holds together (if it still looks to try to stick together you can add more water, 1 tsp at a time).

Shape into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and chill for an hour, or up to overnight.

Roll out on a piece of plastic wrap or a surface that has been floured with gluten free flour. Fill and bake as your pie recipe directs. 

Enjoy!

Julie