Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry

Create delicious gluten-free tarts with this easy-to-make gluten-free shortcrust pastry recipe. Enjoy the buttery taste and sturdy texture.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
• Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients
• Ingredient Notes
• Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry Instructions
• Tips For Success
• FAQ
• More Dessert Recipes You'll Love
• Recipe
• Reviews

Why You'll Love This Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

Gluten-free shortcrust pastry dough is a simple recipe for pies, tarts, and quiches. It's sweeter, less flaky, and more crumbly than traditional pie crust but similarly, holds a sturdy texture. This recipe creates the perfect tart shell for my gluten-free lemon tart and gluten-free fruit tart. Here are more reasons why you will love this gluten-free shortcrust pastry recipe:

• This gluten-free pastry is easy to make with simple ingredients. 
• The perfect crumb for both sweet and savory tarts.
• Delicious buttery sweet flavor.

Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour: This recipe uses Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, which is a gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum.
• Sugar: You can use granulated sugar or powdered sugar. If using powdered sugar bump up the measurement to a ¼ cup.
• Butter: Cold unsalted butter gives this dough a buttery crisp flavor and texture.
• Egg: One large egg helps bind the dough together.
• Salt: A little salt enhances the flavor of the dough.

Find the printable recipe card with full instructions and measurements below.

Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry Instructions

How To Make The Dough

1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a food processor add the gluten-free flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse 10 times to combine.
2. Add the cold butter. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the food processor. Pulse around 15-20 times, or until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add the beaten egg. In a small bowl beat the egg with a fork then and add it to the flour mixture. Run the food processor for 15-20 seconds or until the dough starts to come together.
4. Chill the dough. Transfer the dough to a large sheet of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to help bring it all together and form it into a disk. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Roll Out The Dough

1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, place the dough on a piece of floured parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, pound out the middle a few times to flatten the dough while lifting and rotating. If the dough starts to crack, gently push it back together. Place another piece of parchment paper on top.
2. Roll out the dough. Gluten-free dough can be sticky so I recommend rolling it out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. This makes it much easier to roll and transfer to the pan. Start in the center and roll outward, rotating 90 degrees every few rolls. Roll the dough to ¼" thick and about 10-11" wide. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and brush off any excess flour.
3. Transfer the dough to the pan. Place one hand under the remaining parchment paper and carefully flip the dough over the top of the pan. Peel off the parchment paper and discard. Gently lift the edges of the dough to drop it to the bottom of the pan.
4. Form the dough into the pan. Using light pressure, press the dough into the pan. If it tears, just patch it back together. You can also add a little flour to the bottom of a measuring cup and gently push the cup along the edges and center to help flatten the dough. 
5. Trim the excess pastry. Gently press the dough against the sides of the pan. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to trim any excess dough. Use the excess pieces of dough to cover any visible spots.
6. Dock and freeze. Using a fork, dock the shortcrust pastry in several places. Cover the pastry with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes. If using this crust with a filling that bakes in the shell, follow the instructions in the tart recipe. If using a no-bake filling, follow the instructions below for blind-baking the crust.

Blind Bake

1. Prepare the crust for blind baking. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Crumple up a piece of parchment and place it in the center of the dough. Make sure to cover the edges to prevent the pastry crust from burning. Top with pie weights or dried beans. The weights will help the crust to keep its shape while baking.
2. Blind bake and let cool. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and into the preheated oven for 20 minutes. The edges of the crust should just be starting to brown. Remove the parchment and pie weights. Place the tart back in the oven to bake for another 5 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Allow the shell to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before removing it, then transfer the shell to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Tips For Success

• Sticky dough that is hard to handle. This is not a firm dough, therefore it needs to chill for at least 2 hours. For best results, I recommend rolling the dough in between two pieces of floured parchment paper. If it does start to tear when transferring to your tart pan, that's ok! This pastry is very forgivable, so just ease it into the pan the best you can and cover up any patches with the excess handover as needed. You can also roll the pastry back into a ball of dough, flatten it back into a disk, and place it back in the refrigerator.
• The baked crust is too crumbly. Most likely this happened because of a measuring error or overworking the dough with too much extra flour. Please make sure to measure your gluten-free flour with a food scale and when rolling out the dough, only add a small amount of flour to the parchment paper. Brush any excess flour away with a pastry brush before transferring the pastry to a tart tin. 

FAQ

More Dessert Recipes You'll Love

I hope you love this gluten-free shortcrust pastry recipe as much as I do! If you make it, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.

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