Pie Dough

Perfect pie dough has just the right balance of tenderness and structure. The former comes from fat, the
latter from the long protein chains, called gluten, that form when flour mixes with water. Too little
gluten and the dough won't stick together; too much and the crust turns tough. So presumably we
would face mostly a structural issue with a gluten-free dough, since gluten-free flours are naturally low
in protein. As our first step, we swapped in our gluten-free flour blend for the wheat flour in all the pie
dough recipes the test kitchen has developed over the years. We produced workable doughs in every
case, but an all-butter dough (which includes sour cream for tenderness) had the necessary richness to
stand up to the starchiness of the gluten-free flour blend and was clearly the best starting point.
Although we weren't surprised to find that the dough was still too soft and lacked structure, we were
taken aback by how tough it was; on its own, the sour cream was not sufficient to tenderize a gluten-
free dough. We solved the structural problem easily with the addition of a modest amount of xanthan
gum, but flakiness and tenderness were still elusive. In an effort to further tenderize our dough, we
tested ingredients that are known to tenderize: baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. Vinegar was the
clear winner, producing a pie crust that was not only tender, but also light and flaky. Like conventional
recipes, this pie dough can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for 2 days; however, it is not sturdy
enough to withstand freezing.
NOTE: Our gluten-free dough was a lot softer than regular pie dough, but we knew that using extra flour
to roll it out would work against us; this additional flour would have no opportunity to hydrate, which
meant, as we learned from our testing of muffins and other baked goods, that we'd end up with a gritty
texture. Instead, we simply rolled out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to prevent sticking
and allow for easy transfer to the pie plate.


Single-Crust Pie Dough - makes enough for one 9-inch pie
2 tablespoons ice water
1 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoons rice vinegar
6 ounces Gluten-Free Flour
1 teaspoons sugar
teaspoon salt
teaspoon xanthan gum
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into -inch pieces and frozen for 10-15 minutes

1. Combine ice water, sour cream, and vinegar together in bowl. Process flour blend, sugar, salt, and
xanthan gum together in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and
pulse mixture until butter is size of large peas, about 10 pulses.
2. Pour half of sour cream mixture over flour mixture and pulse until incorporated, about 3 pulses. Pour
remaining sour cream mixture over flour mixture and pulse until dough just comes together, about 6
pulses.
3. Divide dough into 2 even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each
into 5-inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling out dough,
let it sit on counter to soften slightly, about 15 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and
refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
I love the look of a pie baked in one of those old-fashioned looking American-style cast iron skillets but
you can just as easily use a pie dish, metal rather than ceramic for choice. And although you probably
could make the dough stretch to line and cover a 22cm/9-inch pan or dish, it is less stressful to use the
size recommended. Obviously, you can make whatever filling you like, adapting any recipes you already
use.
Ingredients
for the pastry/dough:
200 grams unsalted butter
80 ml ice-cold water
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
365 grams gluten-free flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
teaspoon xanthan gum
for the fruit filling:
500 grams bramley apples peeled, cored and sliced or chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons white sugar
teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of xanthan gum
250 grams blackberries
1 egg white
teaspoon white sugar
Method
1. Cut the butter into half centimetre/quarter inch cubes and put in a flat dish in the freezer for 15
mins and get on with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Mix the water, sour cream and vinegar in a jug or bowl.
3. Tip the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt and xanthan gum into a food processor and blitz quickly to
combine.
4. When the butters had its 15 mins of fame in the freezer, add it to the flour mixture in the
processor and give about 10 pulses, until the butter is the size of large peas.
5. Pour in half the sour cream mixture and pulse till incorporated. 3 to 5 pulses should do it: the
mixture will be crumbly and quite fine.
6. Pour in the remaining sour cream mixture and process until the dough just begins to come
together, clumping around the blades.
7. Tip out the pastry/dough and form into two equal sized balls, and flatten each into discs, wrap in
cling and put in the fridge for 40 minutes to rest. (If you wanted you could leave the
pastry/dough here for up to 2 days). While the pastrys/dough's in the fridge, if you are
proceeding to bake the pie straightaway, preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
8. Melt the butter in a wide pan, and then add the sliced apples, sugar and cinnamon turning
everything about and cooking for about 3 minutes or until the apples soften and make a
caramelly liquid in the bottom of the pan. Add the blackberries, stir gently, take off the heat
and stir in the xanthan gum.
9. When the discs of pastry/dough have had their time to rest in the fridge, take one of the discs
out and roll out between two pieces of greaseproof or parchment paper. It is important not to
add any flour to the pastry/dough during the rolling out process.
10. Once the pastry/dough is wide enough to line the bottom and sides of your dish or skillet, about
4cm/2 inches of overhang should do it. Take off the top layer of greaseproof or parchment, and
then turn the pastry/dough upside down over your dish and carefully peel off the remaining
paper.
11. Ease the pastry/dough into your dish, and then take out the other disc and roll in out in the
same way.
12. Tip the apple and blackberry mixture into the pie case and dampen the lip with cold water, and
then peel away the top layer of paper off the pastry/dough and flip it over the top of the pie.
13. Cut around the overhang of pastry/dough with a knife and then seal the edge by either crimping
or pressing it down with the prongs of a fork.
14. Cut some slits in the centre of the pie for steam to escape, then paint with the egg white and
sprinkle over the sugar.
15. Put in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the pastry/dough is cooked and golden. If you use a
regular pie dish, it may take longer.