Best Gluten-Free Pie Crust (Flaky, Tender, Easy To Roll)

If you’re looking for a flaky, tender gluten-free pie dough (or pastry dough) that is fabulously easy to roll out, look no further. Not only is this the best tasting gluten-free pie crust, this detailed guide is also full of tips and tricks to help you make perfect GF crust at home. The secret? A tablespoon of sour cream! It tenderizes the dough to make it just as light as all butter pie crusts you grew up on.

Prep Time 15

chilling time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings

Author Melissa Erdelac

Ingredients

8 tablespoon (113 g) unsalted butter cut into small cubes and frozen for 10 minutes
2 ½ tablespoons ice water
1 ½ tablespoons sour cream
1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¾ PLUS ⅔ cup (194 g) gluten-free flour I highly recommend Cup4Cup gluten-free flour
1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Food Processor (OR Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment)

Place the cubed butter in the freezer for 10 minutes. Mix together the cold water, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl. Place the liquids bowl in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
8 tablespoon unsalted butter, 2 ½ tablespoons ice water, 1 ½ tablespoons sour cream, 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Pulse or mix on low speed the flour, sugar, and salt together until mixed.
¾ PLUS ⅔ cup gluten-free flour, 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
Process the butter into the flour mixture until well incorporated, evenly dispersed, and without large chunks.
Add the liquids to the food processor or stand mixer and combine until the flour becomes moistened and small dough clumps appear.
Tip: To check if you have enough liquid, clump and flatten a small bit of dough. If it doesn’t stick together, is crumbly, or breaks apart easily, add a small dash of ice water. Pulse a few times and recheck. The dough should come together easily.
Turn the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a thick 1" disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes. Before rolling out, let sit on counter 5 minutes so it is easier to work with.

By Hand Method:

Mix together the cold water, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use. Freeze the butter for 10 minutes until very cold.
In a large bowl whisk together the gluten-free flour, sugar and salt.
Use a pastry blender, fork, or fingers to cut and knead butter into the dough until it is well incorporated throughout.
Add half the liquids and knead with fingers or a fork. Pour in the remaining liquids. Knead until the dough starts to come together and the liquids are well mixed with flour.
Turn the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a thick 1" disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes. Before rolling out, let sit on counter 5 minutes so it is easier to work with.

How To Roll Out Crust:

I find rolling in a silicone pie bag works best because the dough doesn’t stick, no additional flour is needed, and it’s easy to shape. If you don’t have one, use two large pieces of parchment paper. Plastic wrap may be used, but it has a tendency to stick to the dough more.
Place the unwrapped dough disc in middle. Use a rolling pin to press and spread the dough from the middle out. Roll into a circle slightly larger than your pie dish. (See tips in recipe notes for rolling out crust)
Remove the top paper, and invert into the pie plate. Remove the second paper.
Tip: If the dough has warmed while rolling, it may be trickier to take the paper off. If this happens, leave the paper on, and stick the whole thing in the fridge for 5 minutes. Once the crust is chilled again it's much easier to pull off the paper. If the dough is too cold and the crust breaks, let it sit on the counter for a minute first before trying again.
Trim off excess dough around the edges. If some edges need more dough to fold under, press on some of the clipped off pie dough. Tuck the overhang dough under to meet edge of pie dish. Using both forefingers, flute edges by pressing one down and one up next to each other.
Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and place in freezer 15 minutes, or up to an hour, until chilled. Fill and bake according to recipe directions, or see recipe notes for a partially or fully baked crust.

Notes

Best tips For Rolling Out Crust

If the dough is too cold it will be hard to roll and break apart. Let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes and try again.
When you are rolling, press down in the middle and push the dough out from center. This will ensure the middle not being too thick, while edges are too thin.
Rotate the pie dough as you are rolling so it forms a perfect circle. If one side is bigger than the other, cut some dough off and add it to the smaller side of the circle.
While rolling, the dough may warm, which causes the parchment paper to stick. If this happens, place rolled pie crust, with parchment still on, in the refrigerator for 5 minutes so butter re-solidifies and releases from the paper.
Once the dough is turned over in the pie dish use kitchen scissors to trim off excess dough around edges. If some edges need more dough to fold under, press on some of the clipped-off pie dough.
Use two fingers to flute into a decorative. For a shiny crust brush the exposed edges with an egg wash before adding filling.

Dairy-Free

For a gluten-free dairy-free or vegan pie dough, plant-based butter sticks or shortening may be substituted, but will affect the taste and flakiness. I also recommend cutting the salt by half if using plant-based butter. Replace the sour cream with a dairy-free substitute.

Storing / Freezing

Wrapped dough may be refrigerated up to 1 day. Longer than that, place the wrapped disc in a freezer ziplock bag to freeze for 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen: The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook.

Nutrition