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Home Β» Baked Goods Β» Buttery, Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust

June 8, 2020 (last updated May 12, 2023)

Buttery, Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust

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Janet Harlow
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This gluten-free pie crust is buttery, flaky and is the perfect base for a sweet or savory pie. Step-by-step instructions for making and rolling out the pie crust are included.

gluten-free pie crust in gold colored ceramic pie pan on white background with flour on surface.

Here’s how to make gluten-free pie crust making easier than ever.

If you’ve ever made a pie crust with wheat-based flour, you know that over-working the dough and adding too much water are no-nos. Why? Too much water and too much mixing/kneading will create gluten, which makes the crust elastic instead of flaky. You can throw away most of this knowledge because without gluten (yay!) no need to worry about those things.

Here are some of my super-easy pie recipes, Because I like to eat more than I like to bake I created this easy strawberry pie, gluten-free fig pie and the holiday friendly gluten-free s’mores pie. All of them have simple no-bake pie fillings.

Pie Crust Ingredients

Gluten-free flour blend – Be sure to use a flour blend without xanthan gum. For a store bought one, I prefer King Arthur Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Blend. To make your own blend check out my post on gluten-free flour blends. One-to-one and similar gluten-free flour blends which are meant to be a substitute for wheat flour, will not work as well in this recipe.

Corn starch gives this gluten-free pie crust a light delicate texture.

Butter is my fat of choice but shortening and butter substitutes will work too.

Rolling Out Pie Dough

The most difficult thing about a gluten-free pie crust is rolling it out and getting it into the pie tin in one piece. It is very sticky and tears easily. I solve those problems by rolling it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or silicone mats. This way, transferring it to the pan is much easier. Here’s how I do it!

Pie Crust Ingredients

  • 1ΒΌ cup gluten-free flour blend*
  • β…“ cup non-gmo corn starch
  • 1 Tbsp sugar (omit for savory pies)
  • Β½ tsp xanthan gum
  • ΒΎ tsp salt
  • 8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vinegar
  • 2 tsp cold water
  • 1 additional egg (for egg wash)

Make the dough

I find that a food processor is the best tool for mixing up the dough. If you don’t have one, use a pastry blender or 2 forks to break up the butter. Stir in the liquid, then use your hands to pull it together.

In a small bowl, thoroughly beat the egg, water and vinegar together. Cut the butter into cubes.

Place the dry ingredients into the food processor and pulse a few times.

Add the butter cubes.

overhead view of food processor bowl with butter and flour for gluten free pie crust

Pulse (around 25 times) until it resembles a coarse meal (small pearl-sized pieces of butter). The mixture will start to take on a light buttery yellow tint.

overhead view of food processor bowl with butter and flour beaten for gluten free pie crust

With the processor running, drizzle in the egg mixture. Run until the dough comes together into a ball.

overhead view of gluten free pie dough in food processor

Form the dough into a thin disk and refrigerate wrapped in plastic for 30 minutes.

How to Roll out Gluten-Free Pie Dough

Splash or spray some water onto your counter top (this will keep the plastic wrap from shifting). Lay two 24β€³ long pieces of plastic wrap side-by-side on the counter, overlapping the long sides at least 1 1/2 inches. Smooth them out. Unwrap the pie dough and place in the center of the plastic.

Place 2 more side-by-side pieces of plastic over the dough. Try to pull out some of the wrinkles.

disk of gluten free pie dough on counter with plastic wrap under and on top

Roll out the dough to about 1/8β€³ thick. Roll from the center to the outside going around in a circle to keep it round. Imagine the dough is a clock face. Roll at 12:00, then 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00 and repeat.

Keeping the plastic on, slide the rolled out crust onto an up-side down baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

Remove the top layer of plastic. Slide both hands underneath the bottom so that your hands and lower arms are supporting it. Lift and flip it over and into into the pan. Gently remove the plastic. Don’t worry too much if it tears-just use your fingertips to press it back together. Form the edge and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

How to pre-bake or β€œblind-bake” a pie crust:

Blind baked crusts are used when you have a filling that doesn’t need to be baked. Here’s how to do it:

Heat the oven to 350ΒΊF. Cover the crust with a large sheet of tin foil or parchment and weigh it down with raw rice or dry beans. This will assure that the crust holds its shape while it bakes. Bake for 20 minutes, cool, then fill.

gluten free pie dough in pan with pie weights on white background
gold ceramic pie pan with unbaked pie crust. Whit marble background with flour scattered.

Buttery, Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Author: Janet Harlow
Course: Baked Goods
Cuisine: American
Servings: 1 9″ crust
This gluten-free pie crust is buttery, flaky and is the perfect base for a sweet or savory pie. Step-by-step instructions for making and rolling out the pie crust are included.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Additional Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Recommended Products

  • Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

Ingredients
  

  • 1ΒΌ cup gluten-free flour blend*
  • β…“ cup potato starch or non-gmo corn starch
  • 1 Tbsp sugar omit for savory pies
  • Β½ tsp xanthan gum
  • ΒΎ tsp salt
  • 8 Tbsps 1 stick cold unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1bsp water
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1 egg for egg wash

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, thoroughly beat the egg, water and vinegar together. Cut the butter into cubes.
  • Place the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
  • Add the butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal (small pearl-sized pieces of butter).
  • With the processor running, drizzle in the egg mixture. Run until the dough comes together into a ball.
  • Form the dough into a thin disk and refrigerate wrapped in plastic for 30 minutes.
  • Splash or spray some water onto your counter top (this will keep the plastic wrap from shifting). Lay two 24β€³ long pieces of plastic wrap side-by-side, overlapping the long sides by 2 inches, on the counter. Smooth them out. Place the unwrapped dough onto the plastic
  • Place 2 more side-by-side pieces of plastic over the dough.
  • Roll out the dough to about 1/8β€³ thick. Roll from the center to the outside going around in a circle to keep it round.
  • Keeping the plastic on, slide the rolled out crust onto an upside down sheet pan and chill for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the top layer of plastic. With both hands and forearms under the bottom plastic, lift and flip it into the pan. Remove the plastic. Don’t worry too much if it tears-just use your fingertips to press it back together. Form the edge and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

To pre-bake or β€œblind-bake” the pie crust:

  • Heat the oven to 350ΒΊ
  • Cover the crust with a large sheet of tin foilΒ or parchment and weigh it down with raw rice or dry beans. This will assure that the crust holds its shape while it bakes.
  • Brush the edge of the crust with a beaten egg.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, remove the pie weights and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Notes

Note: Gluten-free pie crusts do not brown as much as wheat based crusts. Brush the edge with an egg wash to increase browning. Do not over-bake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 pieCalories: 161kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 223mgSugar: 1g
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how it was! Tag @chefjanetk on Instagram.
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Posted In: Baked Goods, Dessert · Tagged: how to, pie

Comments

  1. Louise says

    May 29, 2023 at 4:48 am

    Hi there Janet, our family has egg allergies (+ dairy, soy, rice, and oats), do you have any suggestions for possible egg replacers that would be suitable for this recipe? Also, do you think it would be likely that nuttelex will have the same effect as butter in this instance?

    Reply
    • Janet Harlow says

      May 29, 2023 at 8:13 am

      Hi Louise, I’m so sorry I have not tested this recipe with egg replacers. I also have not tested it with a vegan butter. I would recommend searching for a vegan gluten-free pie crust recipe instead.

      Reply

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