One Gluten Free Flaky Crust coming right up!

Remember Grandma's super flaky buttery pie crusts? The one that you ate every last crumb of? Did you think because you've gone gluten free that those days were over? So did I. BUT we're wrong my friends!

I'm one of those people who goes nuts over the holidays with cooking and baking. For a week before each holiday my counters are always cluttered with an array of baking trays, pots and pans and every type of cooking implements I have. I try to eat most of the things in my freezer before the turkeys sales start at the stores.  . .why? Because I hoard turkeys. I have to have a minimum of 3 turkeys in my freezer during the winter because I just love the whole turkey dinner spread THAT MUCH! Yes, with the spread comes all those pies and desserts I Heart!

Being October and now a gluten free household--yes a while ago I did go all gluten free to make things easier. Although, I have to say I myself do feel healthier (ahem especially my GI tract) these days. I also find it's a bit of a fun challenge trying to adapt favorite recipes and discovering new ones. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of failures which make me want to never touch any type of flour again! 

But now is the time to button up my Thanksgiving day menus, yes menu(s). Oh let me count the ways: At home Thanksgiving the week before (practice run). Thanksgiving with my parents, then a rush to Moe's parents and finally our friends = 4 Thanksgivings my friends. My biggest challenges that I could foresee would have been the pies, stuffing and dinner rolls. It's taken me most of October to button up the pies with experiments on gluten free crusts, thankfully I did get an awesome lead from the King Arthur Flour site. First I tried a few butter crusts, then a few lard (Crisco) ones, not fully satisfied with either I've developed the combo butter/lard crust and it's perfect. I'm happy to share and hope you too will start looking forward to diving into those Holiday pies again. Now on to those rolls (which I've been diligently working on) and stuffing. Stay tuned I've got us covered.

Adapted from the King Arthur Flour site recipe.

Ingredients (enough for 2 pie sheets):

• *2 1/2 cups Brown Rice All Purpose Flour Blend
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Unflavored Knox Gelatin 
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 6 tablespoons of butter flavored lard
• 2 large egg
• 4 teaspoons of vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 
  

*Note: This is my go to Gluten-free AP flour recipe from King Arthur Flour's website. It uses brown rice flour instead of the typical mix of white and brown rice flour for a less gritty texture. They use stabilized brown rice, which I haven't been able to find it yet, my brown rice flour seems to work just fine. I mix a batch up and store it in a container for ease of use and add xantham or guar guar when necessary.

6 cups brown rice flour 

2 cups potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch 

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, Knox Gelatin, xanthan gum, and salt.

Cut the cold butter and lard into chucks and add into the flour mixture. Using your hands, mix until it's crumbly.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vinegar together. Mix into the flour/butter/lard bowl.

 Using your hands, mix and until blended and form into a 2 large balls. If it doesn't want to hold together incorporate an more water--1 teaspoon of water at a time.

Shape into 2 balls and chill for at least an hour.

Time to roll. Take the dough balls out and let rest for a few minutes at room temperature. Tear off a pie shell size piece of plastic wrap and sprinkle with some GFAP flour (about 1/4 cup). 

Place a dough ball onto the floured wrap and roll out into a 9" pie pan size. Repeat with 2nd dough ball.

Transfer your first crust with the plastic wrap to your pie plate. Add your filling of choice.

Transfer your 2nd crust with the plastic to the pie plate and flip, remove plastic, crimp the edges. Fill and bake as your pie filling recipe indicates.