#104: Gluten Free Pie Dough Recipe

Gluten Free Pie Dough Recipe and How to Make It

Gluten Free Pie Dough and How to Make It

In 2006, when I learned I had celiac disease and could no longer eat AP flour, I started the process of creating gluten-free dough. This took over a year as there were no off-the-shelf gluten-free all-purpose flour mixes available at that time. I mixed many different combinations of flours and starches, learning with each as I experimented, until I settled on one which you’ll find in Art of the Pie: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want.

Yes, it’s a Gluten Free Pie! (Photo by me)

But gone are the days of mixing multiple GF flours and starches before baking anything. Now I just reach for an off-the-shelf, gluten-free, all-purpose flour mix and bake on. To this “old-timer” in the gluten-free baking world, it truly feels like a luxury.

Bake On! (Photo by me)

So today I’m sharing with you the gluten-free pie dough I created for Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want, which uses off-the-shelf Gluten-Free All-Purpose flour. You’ll find the ones I most often use in the footnote below. ¹

Gluten Free Pie (Photo by me)

---

Gluten-Free dough is not hard to make and with a little practice, you’ll be sharing delicious pies with GF friends and family!

RECIPE: Gluten-Free Dough from Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want

This recipe will make enough dough for one 9” deep-dish double-crusted pie

What You Need

• 3 cups (444 g) all-purpose gluten-free flour

• 1 cup (224 g) fat of your choice, chilled or frozen, cut into small pieces or grated

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar optional

• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon water (133 g) (If making an egg-free dough, see water amount in variation below)

• 1 egg fork beaten (Omit If making egg-free dough and use variation below.)

VARIATION: Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Dough

• 1 tablespoon (10 g) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Egg Replacer plus 2 tablespoons water

• 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon water (123 ml)

How to Do It

1. Place all the ingredients, except the water and egg, in the work bowl of a food processor fit with a metal dough blade, or a medium bowl if making by hand. If using a food processor, pulse 5-10 times to break up the butter pieces a bit more. If making by hand, use a mezzaluna or pastry blender to chop up the butter into small pieces, or smoosh and pinch them with your fingers. Another option is to grate frozen butter, and smoosh and pinch it into the flour.

2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the water over the dough and mix and pulse by food processor, or fluff with a fork or your hands. Repeat with the remaining water in two additions.

3. Add the egg and pulse a 5-10 times if using a food processor or fluff it around with a fork, to mix into dough evenly.

4. Turn the shaggy dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and tightly pull the edges up around it, pressing with the heels of your hands to mold the plastic-wrapped dough into a ball. (You can try doing this with a silpat but it is kinda awkward. I don’t touch GF dough with my hands…at least not at this stage. There are step by step photos of this process in the book Pie Camp.)

5. Cut the ball in half, and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Flatten the discs to a height of about ¾ inch (2 cm) and width of 6 inches (15 cm). It is easier to form balls or discs of gluten-free dough when they are wrapped and covered, rather than placing your hands directly on the dough.

6. Chill dough for 10 to 20 minutes in the fridge or even 5 to 7 minutes in the freezer.

7. The dough should be at a pliable temperature, about 64°F (18°C), and rolled between two layers of plastic wrap or silpats. Plan to roll as soon as possible as GF flour absorbs water and your dough can get hard very quickly.

VARIATION: Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Dough

• After Step 1 of the recipe, add the egg replacer and the 2 tablespoons water and pulse again by machine, or mix by hand until combined. Then proceed with Step 2, using the ½ cup plus 1 teaspoon water. Omit Step 3 and go on to Step 4.

Another Gluten Free Pie (Photo by me)

Rolling Out

Although I try not to use plastic wrap, I do find that GF dough does roll out more easily sandwiched between two layers of plastic wrap. I use a little piece of plastic wrap on top of the the dough edge when making flutes with my fingers and crimps with a fork, too. There’s a full set of step by step photos in Pie Camp showing the entire GF process.

Be Happy, Make Gluten-Free Pie!

Yes this pork pie is made with Gluten Free dough.(Photo by me)

1. Two GF flours I use the most are Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Measure for Measure. I’ve used Better Batter GF Flour with very good results. I’m sure there are others that will work, too.

Here’s the link to Bob’s GF Egg Replacer.