my “universal” gluten-free pie dough

(Post updated April 11 2017 for millet flour option)

For the longest time, I made my own gluten-free pie dough using « split pea flakes », which I found in my local organic food store… in France. Since I couldn’t find it in the States, I started taking some to my children’s home every time I visited. To tell you the truth, I grew a little tired of justifying the contents of my luggage every single time I went through customs ! So this winter I became determined to come up with a more «universal» dough. I now use certified gluten-free oats, rice flour and teff flour, easy to find in the U.S. and available on Amazon for Britain and Ireland too (note : the internet domain extension is for Ireland is « ie », not « ir » 🙄, which, as I realized too late, stands for Iran!). No starches, which makes it safe for people with sulfite sensitivity or nightshade intolerance. No egg, just ground chia for the binding, another trick learned from Jack : in the past I was using flax seed, which is fine, but I now find chia makes the dough even more malleable. This pie dough is such a breeze to make: once everything has been measured, leave it to your food processor to do all the hard work, and see how nicely it rolls out, and, mostly, how easy it is to cut through once baked. It doesn’t fall apart, either, nor will you break your teeth biting into it! As for the taste, I like it very much for salty (quiche-type) pies. As of today I haven’t tried it with a fruit filling, but will eventually, with improvements if need be, promise!

Ingredients (for one 22 cm diameter pie)

– 30 g (= 1 oz) certified gluten-free oats (I am so happy to have found these!) + 1 TBSP ground chia seeds

– 90 ml warm water (for people with sulfite sensitivity this may be a source of problem ; in which case you may have to use mineral spring water)

– flour mix : 50 g (= 1.75 oz) rice flour + 35 g (= 1.23 oz) teff flour (OR 35 to 40 g (= 1.2 to 1.4 oz)  millet flour ) + pinch all natural sea salt.  Note that millet and teff don’t absorb water the same way, hence the need for different amounts.

– 2 TBSP olive oil + 1 TBSP non hydrogenated margarine / soft butter if you are not dairy intolerant.

How to:

1. Soak the oats and ground chia in the warm water and let cool.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the flour mix separately. Add pinch of sea salt.

3. Combine all the ingredients in your food processor and run or pulse until a soft ball forms. There, you are done !

 

Let the dough rest for a while in the fridge. After that, I usually roll it out thinly between a sheet of parchment paper and greased plastic wrap, prick it (to prevent rising) and put it in the freezer until it gets hard.

Prebake, still frozen, in a 185°C / 365°F preheated oven, using fan-forced heat, for 20 to 25 minutes. It may feel like this is overcooking it but it is not.  The dough needs to take a light brown color. NOTE that if you do not have the fan-forced heat feature in your oven, you will need to INCREASE the temperature to 200°C /  395°F,  maybe even 400°F.  After this lapse of time, I add my filling (usually egg-based but this is all up to you) and bake for another 20 minutes, or until filling has set. 

An example of a pie made with this dough: