Gluten Free Pie Crust Problems

[Caraway]

Normally I make the pumpkin pie and GF crust from America's Test kitchen.  I cook it in a glass pie pan and consistently have issues with a crust that is too brown despite using foil on edge.

This year I read a post on Gluten Free on a Shoestring that suggested a metal pan.  So I bough metal pans.

Last night I cooked the Extra Flaky GF crust from Shoestring in a metal pan with a silicone edge guard.  The color of the crust is beautiful.  It is however hard as a rock.

I guess I'm going to try the ATK recipe in the metal pan?  But now my kids like the Shoestring filling better, which doesn't seem like it will work with the ATK crust recipe based on their notes in the book.  

Suggestions?  Ideas about where I went wrong?

[prairiewindmomma]

I saw on YouTube that they had tweaked their recipe...not sure what exact ratio ingredients you are using....or if you are adding xantham gum. 

Usually GF crusts are more tender than wheat based pie crusts because GF has a higher starch ratio and no gluten to develop.

I personally find that using lard or shortening or a mix of it makes for a better crust than straight butter. How are you incorporating the fat? I do my crusts by hand to feather and flake that fat into the flour.

Finally, the reason people use vinegar or vodka > water in their pie crust recipe is because they evaporate out better.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Forgot to ask..are you resting and chilling your dough as you work with it?

[ktgrok]

I just use the gluten free pie crust from the freezer section at whole foods - no issues 🙂

The one from Trader Joes does get super hard, but the Whole Foods one doesn't. 

[Caraway]

8 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Forgot to ask..are you resting and chilling your dough as you work with it?

I I used this recipe: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/extra-flaky-gluten-free-sour-cream-pie-crust/

I made it by hand, and rested/chilled as directed in the recipe. 
 

I can’t use lard because of the guest list. I have a general stance that fake lard/Crisco is to be avoided, but I guess I could give up my soapbox for a day. 
 

The crust looked beautiful but came out hard - like dog biscuit hard. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I am generally anti fake lard also—except with GF pie crusts—if you go this route, try the spectrum non-hydrogenated shortening.

I have never had luck with sour cream based recipes.

I use the Namaste perfect flour blend.

1.5# flour, 1# butter, 1 c water, salt if making a sweet pie...probably 2 T worth. Makes 8 crusts. They freeze well. 

[Caraway]

7 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I am generally anti fake lard also—except with GF pie crusts—if you go this route, try the spectrum non-hydrogenated shortening.

I have never had luck with sour cream based recipes.

I use the Namaste perfect flour blend.

1.5# flour, 1# butter, 1 c water, salt if making a sweet pie...probably 2 T worth. Makes 8 crusts. They freeze well. 

Thanks for walking me thru this. Is there a recipe with these ratios (and shortening) that I could follow?

[prairiewindmomma]

Not that I could easily find when I googled. My friend is a professional pastry chef, and this is her recipe. I had some of her pie this week. 🙂 The shortening to butter swap is a direct swap...just use shortening instead. 🙂 The GF on a shoestring technique looked right on...especially her point about feathering the fat with her fingers so that it is flaky.

[Caraway]

5 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Not that I could easily find when I googled. My friend is a professional pastry chef, and this is her recipe. I had some of her pie this week. 🙂 The shortening to butter swap is a direct swap...just use shortening instead. 🙂 The GF on a shoestring technique looked right on...especially her point about feathering the fat with her fingers so that it is flaky.

So would I finger feather with shortening?  I get that the shortening could sub directly for butter, but it seems like I’d need to start with a recipe that didn’t have sour cream. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Yeah. You want that fat to be flaky.

[Lori D.]

Well, I rarely make pies, but  I just make them without crusts in a greased glass pan. No one seems to miss the crust... 😉 

Edited November 22, 2019 by Lori D.

[73349]

I make a GF pumpkin pie in a glass pan in a water bath. And I shamelessly buy the Midel crust when I make a pudding pie. Even ATK and other reputable recipe sources are sometimes not as good as I'd prefer.

[Katy]

I agree with Katie.  The whole foods frozen ones are foolproof, none of the recipes I've tried have been great. 

Once my mom made a pumpkin pie in a GF gingersnap crust (made like a graham cracker crust), but when I made it, it burned.  I asked here and the conclusion was there was too much real ginger and real sugar in my gingersnaps, the ones my mom used were probably mild with less sugar.

[wintermom]

I make my pumpkin pie "crust" with oats. It's kind of like the crisp part of apple crisp, but I put it on the bottom. I use gluten-free oats, maple syrup and margarine (you could use butter or coconut oil). I don't like pastry anyway, and this has been working really well. 

If this appeals to you, just be careful that the filling isn't too watery. I've made it with fresh pumpkin and the water content seems a little higher than canned pumpkin. The oats soak up the liquid and swell. 

[Katy]

11 hours ago, wintermom said:

I make my pumpkin pie "crust" with oats. It's kind of like the crisp part of apple crisp, but I put it on the bottom. I use gluten-free oats, maple syrup and margarine (you could use butter or coconut oil). I don't like pastry anyway, and this has been working really well. 

If this appeals to you, just be careful that the filling isn't too watery. I've made it with fresh pumpkin and the water content seems a little higher than canned pumpkin. The oats soak up the liquid and swell. 

 

Do you have a specific recipe with measurements, or do you just sort of throw everything together?

[wintermom]

5 hours ago, Katy said:

 

Do you have a specific recipe with measurements, or do you just sort of throw everything together?

I add the ingredients to cover the bottom of the pan I'm using. It doesn't have to be a very deep layer. I've been using a rectangular casserole dish for my pumpkin pies. You could use a round quiche pan if you have one and you want a circular shape. 

[BarbecueMom]

I just made a Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie using the pie crust recipe from a new cookbook I checked out of the library, Gluten-Free Baking at Home.  It's still cooling off and I won't get to eat any until tomorrow, but I was able to stick my thumbnail into the edge of the crust.  I guess that's a good sign, since mine usually need a jackhammer straight out of the oven.

I still had problems getting it off the parchment paper and into the pan (I'm not the most patient pie-maker), but the dough was a easier to work with than other recipes I've tried.

We'll see how it tastes tomorrow.

[Alicia64]

On 11/22/2019 at 12:00 PM, Ktgrok said:

I just use the gluten free pie crust from the freezer section at whole foods - no issues 🙂

The one from Trader Joes does get super hard, but the Whole Foods one doesn't. 

THANK YOU!!! Heading to Whole Foods tomorrow!

[BarbecueMom]

On 11/23/2019 at 6:38 PM, BarbecueMom said:

I just made a Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie using the pie crust recipe from a new cookbook I checked out of the library, Gluten-Free Baking at Home.  It's still cooling off and I won't get to eat any until tomorrow, but I was able to stick my thumbnail into the edge of the crust.  I guess that's a good sign, since mine usually need a jackhammer straight out of the oven.

I still had problems getting it off the parchment paper and into the pan (I'm not the most patient pie-maker), but the dough was a easier to work with than other recipes I've tried.

We'll see how it tastes tomorrow.

UPDATE:  Best GF pie crust I’ve made so far. A couple things I did differently... I did NOT pre-bake the crust.   I froze the unbaked crust before filling, then baked according to the pumpkin pie recipe (which used a store-bought frozen crust).  I used a metal pie crust shield and removed it for the last 7-8 minutes of baking.  And I took the pie out of the fridge to bring it close to room temperature before serving.  Very easy to cut, only the first piece was a bit tricky to get out of the pan without falling apart.

ETA:  I also baked it with the pie plate sitting on a cookie sheet, to make it easier to transfer in and out of the oven (recommended in the pumpkin pie instructions).  I don't know how that affected the baking process.

I might try it again with shortening (I used all butter) just to see what happens.

Edited November 25, 2019 by BarbecueMom

[ElizabethB]

You could use palm oil.  

[Caraway]

49 minutes ago, BarbecueMom said:

UPDATE:  Best GF pie crust I’ve made so far. A couple things I did differently... I did NOT pre-bake the crust.   I froze the unbaked crust before filling, then baked according to the pumpkin pie recipe (which used a store-bought frozen crust).  I used a metal pie crust shield and removed it for the last 7-8 minutes of baking.  And I took the pie out of the fridge to bring it close to room temperature before serving.  Very easy to cut, only the first piece was a bit tricky to get out of the pan without falling apart.

I might try it again with shortening (I used all butter) just to see what happens.

Is this the book?

Gluten-Free Baking At Home: 102 Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399582797/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_u3V2DbE63SP14

 

[BarbecueMom]

5 minutes ago, Caraway said:

Is this the book?

Gluten-Free Baking At Home: 102 Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399582797/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_u3V2DbE63SP14

 

Yep.  That's the one!

[Caraway]

4 hours ago, BarbecueMom said:

Yep.  That's the one!

Do you like the book?  It looks pretty good from what I can see on Amazon. 

[BarbecueMom]

10 minutes ago, Caraway said:

Do you like the book?  It looks pretty good from what I can see on Amazon. 

I’m not sure.  That was the first recipe I made out of it.  Many of the recipes seem a bit fancier than I’m willing to put in the time or buy rare ingredients for.  Because pie is so finicky, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to dig out all my individual flours/starches and try a more complex recipe.

I usually check GF cookbooks out of the library first to see if I want to spend the money on them.  As of right now, if it’s just the pie crust that’s a keeper, I wouldn’t buy it.  So far, the only ones I felt I had to own are Baked Doughnuts for Everyone and Gluten Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  And the Minecraft cookbook *sigh*.