This gluten-free pie crust is derived from a Bette Hagman recipe with a few flavourful adaptations and some notes from personal experience. I must admit, I was no wizard with wheat-based pastry, but this GF version makes me feel like a pastry goddess. The recipe makes two 10" pies or one double-crusted pie.
Notes: Gluten-free pie crust can’t be overworked like wheat-flour crust, but it can get too warm or have too much water. Start with the recommended 3 tbsp of water (or even less) and then decide if you need more, if the dough is too dry. The dough also needs to be good and cold when you roll it out. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling it, then roll it out on rice-floured plastic wrap or wax paper. It is too delicate to drape over the rolling pin and lift into the plate after rolling, so bring the pan to it instead. Invert the pie plate onto the rolled-out dough on the plastic wrap, then slide your hand under the plastic wrap and flip the whole shebang right-side up. Press the dough into the plate, remove the plastic wrap, flute the edges, and voilà. If it all falls apart, it’s pretty easy to patch together, too.
1 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup potato starch flour
1 rounded tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
dash sugar
1/2 cup lard or shortening (what's your issue? transfats or animal products?)
1/2 cup butter (cold)
1 egg, beaten (cold)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp ice water
extra sweet rice flour (for rolling)
Whisk dry ingredients together. Cut in butter and shortening until soft crumbs form. Mix in egg, vinegar, and water, and gather dough into a ball. If the dough is too dry, add an additional tbsp of water, but read the note above before you do . . . Chill the dough one hour. Divide in two and roll out each half. Press into the pie plates. Prick all over with a fork.
For a pre-baked crust: To bake, line the pie crusts with foil to cover and weigh the foil down with dry beans or pie weights. Bake at 400F for 12 minutes; remove the weights and foil, and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes at 350F, until lightly browned. You must weight the crust down to cook it as a pre-baked crust, or it will lurch upward in the middle as it cooks.
Otherwise, follow the regular cooking instructions in your favourite regular pie recipe and cook until lightly golden and flaky. Be sure to create wide steam vents in double-crust pies -- GF pie crust likes to seal itself back up as it cooks.
