Easy Gluten Free Flaky Pie Crust
It’s summer and that means berries and cherries are on the menu! A beautiful cherry tree grows in our yard, and we now have enough cherries to make a zillion pies. At least, it feels like we can make that many. We also have strawberry and rhubarb plants – how blessed! This is the perfect time to whip up an easy, gluten free Flaky Pie Crust. We’re filling up our buttery, flaky pie crust with loads of summertime delight. (For fall bakers – check out our GF Deep Dish Apple Pie.)
Flakiest Pie Crust
We tested four different pie crust ideas and discovered the flakiest, tastiest, and buttery gluten free pie crust ever. The best part? This recipe is simple to make. We make it by hand, but you can quickly whip it up in a food processor. The dough rolls out easy and delivers consistent results. Need a vegan crust? No problem! Simply replace the butter with a non-dairy version. We use Earth Balance, but the choice is yours.
Easy as GF Pie
For a delicious cherry pie recipe, click on this link to Flour Farm’s Fresh Cherry Pie recipe. Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction is an amazing baker. We adapted her cherry pie recipe by reducing the sugar to 1/2 C (100g), substituting the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of instant tapioca, and increasing the amount of fresh cherries to make a deep dish pie. In addition, we added lemon zest to taste.
Our berry pie pictured below is an adaption of our Simply Rhubarb Pie. I added a handful of each – blueberries and sliced strawberries and increased the amount of instant tapioca in the recipe by 1 tablespoon. Click on the link to go to our main Dessert and Sweets page where you will find our GF Simply Rhubarb Pie Recipe.
Buttery Gluten Free Pie Fries
When my grandmother had extra pie dough, she would roll it out, sprinkle on some sugar and cinnamon, and bake it up. We loved it when she had extra dough to play with. Now, we use the extra dough to make GF “Pie Fries.” Pie fries use the same technique, we just call them by a different name. Our daughter and her friends enjoy making and eating them! For baking instructions, see recipe below.
Share
We love to hear from you and to receive photos of your creations. Please leave a comment in the section provided below the gluten free Flaky Pie Crust recipe. Your rating encourages others to create magic!
An important note: This recipe successfully uses Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend. Click on this link to blend a batch for yourself. If you choose to make this with another GF flour blend, please note that your results may differ.
Peace & LOVE – Teri
Photos by DuPree Productions; Updated 3/21
Blind Bake Flaky Pie Crust
Easy Gluten Free Flaky Pie Crust
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
How to make the flakiest, tastiest, buttery gluten free pie crust. This recipe is easy to make and delivers consistent results.
Ingredients
Choose Gluten Free, Non-GMO, & Organic Ingredients.
Substitutions: Do you need suggestions to swap out an ingredient? Click here.
Note: If clicking the 2X or 3X scale boxes to the right, please know that weights listed in parentheses below may or may not change. Please take care to check amounts if increasing the recipe.
Dry
- 300g (10.6 oz) Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend (2 3/4 C spoon & level)
- 1/2 tsp Extra Fine Pink Himalayan Salt (3g)
- 1 T Cane Sugar (14g) – note: for a sweeter crust, use 2 T (28g)
- 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum or 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp Tara Gum (2g)
- 1/2 tsp Double Acting, Aluminum Free Baking Powder (2g)
- 227g (8 oz) Butter, very cold (1 C or 2 sticks)
Wet
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (5 ml)
- 4 T Ice Water (60 ml + add by teaspoon if necessary)
- optional: 1/4-1 tsp Pure Extract, such as vanilla, almond, chocolate, maple (up to 5 ml for sweeter pies)
Instructions
Equipment: Digital Scale (preferred), 9″ Pie Plate, Large & Small mixing bowls, Measuring Cups and Spoons, Fork or Pastry Blender, Plastic Wrap, Unbleached Parchment, Silpat or Bakery Mat
Before You Dive In – Prep: Please read!
- This recipe is for a double crust, 9″ pie – divide the recipe in half for just a bottom crust
- Butter should be very cold. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – except the butter.
Step 2: In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and 4 T of ice water. Set aside.
Step 3: Grate the butter into the dry mix and blend with a fork until butter is thoroughly incorporated. Your crumbly mix will have pea sized shapes of dough scattered through it.
Step 4: Sprinkle the vinegar and water mix over the dough. Start with the fork to blend and then switch to a heavy spoon or your hands to mix well. The dough should come together and hold when pinched. If it doesn’t, add water one teaspoon at a time, just until dough forms a rough ball. The dough should not feel gummy, wet or slimy.
Step 5: Shape the dough into a ball. Divide the dough in half, and form two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap or parchment and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (and up to 3 days.)
Step 6: Dust the surface of a pie bag or parchment with flour. Roll out the dough to your desired size, (usually either 12″ or 14″.) If the dough sticks to the surface of the pie bag or parchment, refrigerate for 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a greased pie dish. Press in evenly to prevent air bubbles from forming. Shape the crust, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. It is important to refrigerate the crust in the pie pan for at least 20 minutes before filling to prevent “melting” crust. Grating the butter into the flour blend also helps.
If Blind Baking:
Remove the prepared dough from the refrigerator. Dock the pie by using a fork to poke holes in the bottom and sides of the crust. Line the bottom of the pie with foil or unbleached parchment. If using parchment, crinkle and scrunch it up before smoothing it out and placing it on the surface of the crust so that it fits better. Fill the bottom of the pie with beans, pie weights or rice. Bake for 15 minutes in the lower third of a preheated 400 F/200 C oven. Take the crust out of the oven and remove the pie weights. Place pie shield around the crust. Return the pie to the oven and continue to bake for 7 minutes or until bottom crust starts to brown if partially baking, or for about 15 minutes and the bottom crust is golden brown if fully baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack. It’s OK to add warm filling if partially baking. If making a no-bake pie, bake the crust full and completely cool before filling.
The best tutorial for blind baking can be found at Sally’s Baking Addiction. Click on the link.
Enjoy!!
Notes
To Store: Dough may be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 1 month. It’s easier to store/roll dough in a disk shape than a ball. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight and remove about 30 minutes prior to rolling.
Pie Fries: Roll out dough on floured parchment to desired thickness. Slice dough into 1/2″ strips using a knife or pizza cutter. Use a spatula to transfer strips to a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake in the center of a preheated 350 F/177 C oven for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of fries. Watch closely after 10 minutes. Fries should appear light golden brown along edges when done. Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in a container with a loose fitting lid to maintain crispness. Eat within 2 days or freeze.
Nutrition information provided below is for the recipe as written using salted organic butter.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Pie
- Method: chill
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 370mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 60mg
Keywords: Gluten Free Pie Flaky Crust
For more deliciously sweet, gluten free recipes by Flour Farm, click on this link!
Perfect pie crust. Love this recipe.
★★★★★
So do we! Looking forward to Pumpkin Pies this year. – Teri
I recently experimented with a new pumpkin pie recipe and used your pie crust recipe. I baked the crust for 15 minutes before I put the pumpkin in. At first I was skeptical about not having to weigh the dough down, but all it needed was fork pricks! It worked, and the crust was flakey and delicious. Best yet. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you, Wendy! So happy to hear that the recipe worked for you. We will have a pumpkin pie recipe posted soon if you want to continue experimenting. Stay tuned! Lots of Love, T & D
I have struggled for years now with having to be potato and gluten free. Then add my vegan daughter to the mix. I thought I may give up baked goods all together. I used olive oil in the crust, instead of butter, but my pies turned out beautifully. Your site made it very easy to figure out substituting. I have never had such luck with a pie crust. You amaze me.
★★★★★
Wow! Thank you. So happy to hear about your success. Olive oil – way to go vegan! Loads of Love – Teri & Dave