Extra Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust (Quick and Easy Recipe!)

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Extra Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust (Quick and Easy Recipe!)

This easy homemade gluten-free pie crust recipe is ultra flaky with a classically rich, buttery flavor. In this post, I share my tips and tricks for making the perfect gluten-free pie crust, which can be used for both savory pies and sweet pies.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 0

Chill Time 1

Servings people

Calories 121kcal

Author Rebecca Taig

Ingredients

1⅓ cup gluten-free flour, (180 grams), Cup 4 Cup multi-purpose gluten-free flour
1 tablespoons sugar (15 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold butter, (113 grams), (cubed and placed in freezer for 15 minutes)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, (5 grams)
2 tablespoons sour cream, (30 grams)
3 tablespoons ice cold water, (45 grams)

Instructions

Making the dough

Cold butter is key! Cube the butter, and place the cubes onto a small plate in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Mix the dry ingredients. Add the gluten-free flour, sugar, and salt to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed and blend together the ingredients.
Add the cold butter. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and toss to coat. This will create flaky layers. Turn the mixer on low speed and hold down the top with both hands, just until the butter starts to break down. (The paddle attachment may whip some of the flour out of the bowl while trying to break down the cold butter, so holding down the top helps avoid this problem.)
Blend the butter into the flour mixture. After 1-2 minutes, use a spoon to sift through the mixture. You want the butter chunks no bigger than the size of walnuts. Anything larger you can quickly break apart with your hands but make sure to not handle the butter too much. Every piece of butter should be coated in flour
Whisk together the wet ingredients. Remove the sour cream, ice water, and lemon juice from the refrigerator. Add the ingredients to a small bowl measured on a food scale. Everything should weigh 80 grams. Whisk together until smooth, (it's ok if there are a few sour cream chunks)
Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture. Pour the sour cream mixture into the bowl.
Bring the dough together. Turn the mixer on back to low speed, until the dough begins to form. Form the dough. You do not want to overwork the dough, so as soon as the dough starts to collect around the paddle, turn off the mixer. The dough should be moistened, without visibly dry parts of flour. It should also not be overly wet or sticky. You should be able to squeeze the dough and have it hold together
Scrape down the bowl. Remove any excess dough from the paddle attachment, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pour dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap
Shape the dough. Use the plastic wrap to help gather the dough in a ball. Take one side of the plastic wrap and fold it over the dough, bunching the pieces together. Repeat on the opposite end, shaping the dough and smoothing it out into a disc.
Chill the dough. Place the disc in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Rolling out the dough

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If you refrigerate the dough longer than 1 hour, let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.
Roll the pie crust. Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and sprinkle with flour as well as the rolling pin. Roll the dough until it is large enough to fit your pie plate at ¼ inch thickness
Transfer the dough to a pie plate. Place the pie plate on top of the dough, upside down, and carefully flip the pie dish over.
Shape the pie crust. Gently remove the parchment paper and ease the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan, pushing out any air pockets. Trim any excess edges with scissors, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Fold the edges of the crust under to be even with the top edge of the pie dish. Shape the edges as desired.

To par-bake(partially bake)

Line the pie and fill it with weights. Place crumbled parchment paper or aluminum foil on top of the crust and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Fill all the way up the sides of the crust. This stops the pastry base from rising during cooking.
Bake. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the pie plate on a lined baking sheet, and bake on the lowest rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the pie crust from the oven, and carefully lift and remove the aluminum foil with pie weights into a nearby bowl to cool.
Apply egg wash (optional). To get a nice golden crispy crust, adding an egg wash is recommended. In a small bowl whisk together 1 egg and a splash of milk. Brush the edges and center of the pie crust with the egg wash for a golden crisp color
Docking the pie. Docking is a method used to help the steam escape from the pie crust while baking. Using a fork, prick small holes in the bottom and sides of the crust, without going too high on the sides.
The only time you would not dock a pie crust is if you are putting a liquid filling in, such as pumpkin pie.
Return the pie crust to the oven. Bake for an additional 8-12 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is pale, dry, crisp, and flaky. Add a pie shield or line your crust with aluminum foil if it starts to brown too quickly. If the crust puffs up out of the oven, feel free to gently push it down with the back of a knife.
Let the crust cool. Once the crust has cooled, fill with crust with the pie filling and bake according to your recipe.

To blind bake (fully bake):

Follow the steps above. Line the pie crust and bake with pie weights for 15 minutes.
Return the pie crust to the oven. Bake the crust for an additional 15 minutes, or until the bottom and edges are browned and cooked through. Use a pie shield or line your crust with aluminum foil if it starts to brown too quickly.
Let the crust cool. Fill with your choice of non-bake filling.

To bake a filled pie

Follow the steps up to chilling the pie crust in the freezer for 30 minutes, and then continue the recipe as instructed.

Notes

Pro Tips

Weigh your ingredients on a food scale. For complete accuracy, I recommend weighing all of your ingredients on a food scale.

Use the recommended flour. This recipe uses the gluten-free flour blend Cup 4 Cup multi-purpose gluten-free flour.

Don’t over-mix the flour and butter. The larger chunks of butter equal a buttery flaky pie crust. Just make sure the chunks are no longer than the size of a walnut.

Keep everything cold! Make sure to freeze the butter for 15 minutes, and keep the wet ingredients, such as the ice water, sour cream, and lemon juice in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Refrigerate the dough. This will help hydrate the dough and keep the butter flecks cold in order to get flaky buttery layers. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Freeze the pie crust. Once you roll out the dough into the pie plate, you'll want to freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes to help rechill those strips of butter.

Avoid sticking. Use parchment paper or plastic wrap to roll out the dough. I find it's much easier to transfer the dough to the plate.

Use a pie shield. Watch the crust carefully when par-baking and blind baking. If it starts to catch too much color, use a pie shield to tent the sides and top of the crust or a pie shield.

Use an egg wash. For a beautifully browned crust, brush the dough with an egg wash halfway through the bake.

Baking times may vary. Every oven is different and the baking time for your crust may vary.

Nutrition