Gluten Free Shortcrust Pastry
This gluten free shortcrust pastry is delicious, easy to handle and holds together nicely.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups Brown rice flour
- 1/4 Cup Tapioca Starch
- 1/2 Cup Potato Starch
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 8 oz Butter (1 cup, or 2 sticks)
- 1 Egg
- 3-4 Tbsp Cold water
- 1-2 Tbsp Sugar (optional)
Instructions
To Make the Shortcrust Pastry Dough
- In a large bowl, or food processor, measure out the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, salt, and sugar.
- Using a knife, cut the butter in small-ish pieces into the flour.
- If you're using a food processor, pulse about 20-30 seconds until the butter is coarsely chopped into pea-sized pieces. Alternatively, without a food processor, you can use your fingers to break up the butter into small, pea-sized pieces. The end result should be course and crumbly, without any large pieces of butter.
- Use a spoon to mix in the egg and cold water. Once the mixture begins to form together, use your hands to help it come together into a ball of dough, with no dry spots. The dough should not be dry or crumbly at all, and should resemble the texture of play-doh.
- Divide the dough into two even pieces and form a ball with each. Then press and flatten each ball into a round, disc shape.
- Wrap each ball in plastic wrap or a recycled plastic bag and place in the fridge for a minimum of two hours before use.
To use the dough
- Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and allow it to sit on the counter about 20 minutes to warm up. I have found that dough temperature is key to successfully rolling out gluten free crust. You want it to be pliable, but not so warm that it's "melting" in your hands or on the countertop. I find that if it's too cold when you roll it out, it cracks more.
- Roll the dough out on top of a sheet of baking parchment because it makes the dough much easier to lift off the counter without breaking. Dust a generous amount of brown rice flour onto a large piece of parchment paper, and place the pastry dough on it, then sprinkle additional flour on top of the pastry dough. I like to use a lot of flour, because if the dough sticks to the countertop it will tear very easily when you try to flip into into a pie dish. Using a lot of flour prevents this.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. I like to roll it following the direction of the numbers on a clock, so it stays as round and even as possible. If the dough begins to crack along the edges or in the middle, gently press it back together. If the dough begins to stick to the rolling pin, dust with more flour.
- To get the pastry crust into a pie dish, lift the entire parchment paper and flip upside down onto the pie dish. Peel the parchment paper away, and gently lift the hangover edges of the dough so that they sit nicely into the bottom of the pan. Some edges may break off. Press the dough (gently) into the pan all around so it fits nicely, and break off any excess dough around the edges. Use your fingers to press and shape the dough into your pan.
- You can use the pie crust immediately, or place in the freezer for later use.