Kitchen Experiments: Rhubarb Pie

There was nothing easy about this recipe. It was incredibly complicated, time consuming and frustrating. But, so worth it! This is the best GF pie crust recipe I've tried, the crust has a good flavor and is nice and flaky. Even my gluten-free-phobic brothers didn't complain too loudly. It wasn't easy, but the result were worth the extra effort.

Donna Jo's Dream Pastry
Source: More from the Gluten Free Gourmet

• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup potato starch flour
• 1 cup sweet rice flour
• 1 rounded teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1 egg, cold
• 1 tablespoon GF vinegar
• 1 tablespoons ice water
• Brown rice flour for rolling (although I didn't end up using any)
  

Begin with the crust because the dough has to chill in the refrigerator at least one hour. Blend together the flours, xanthan gum and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter and Crisco in small dabs until the shortening is the size of lima beans (I went a little closer to cornmeal and didn't notice any ill effects. Of course, lima bean sized shortening clumbs would result in a flakier crust).

Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork, add the vinegar and ice water. Stir into the flour mixture, forming a ball. Knead the dough slightly and divide into two balls. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill.

Meanwhile, assemble the ingredients for the filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose GF flour, like Bob's Red Mill
  
• 4 cups cut up rhubarb
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg
• cornstarch

Carefully clean the rhubarb and cut into thin slices, mine were a little too thick and didn't quite cook all the way through, but that would be easily fixed with thinner slices. Add the sugar and flour to the rhubarb mixture. Beat the egg with a fork in a small bowl, add a small amount of cornstarch. Add the egg mixture to the rhubarb and set aside.

Now back to the crust. Roll the crust out between two pieces of lightly floured plastic wrap until the desired size for your pie plate. Using the plastic wrap (and a second pair of hands would be a huge help) carefully place the crust into the pie plate and shape. DO NOT REMOVE THE PLASTIC WRAP UNTIL YOUR CRUST IS EXACTLY HOW YOU WANT IT.


Add the filling and follow the same procedure for the top crust. You'll be able to shape the edges easily with the plastic wrap still in place.


Before putting your pie into the oven, protect your crust from over-browning (because that was A LOT of work!) with a light layer of milk brush all over and aluminum foil protecting the edges. A cookie sheet makes moving easier.


Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes and enjoy!

The X - Files: Baking with Xanthan Gum (Kringles)

I am ashamed to reflect upon how long More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet sat unopened and unexplored with my other recipe books- there are some fantastic recipes in here! Last weekend, I wanted to experiment with pie crust because, apparently, I was feeling very ambitious. Usually, I refuse to have anything to do with GF pie crust. It's a pain to roll out and get into the pie plate and then, after all that work, it never tastes good- forget about the texture problems. Fresh from my resounding sconce success, I decided to explore the Gluten-Free Gourmet's pie crust recipes- but which to choose? I settled upon the Ricotta pastry because it sounded interesting and I thought it would go very well with the Lemon Berry Tarte I wanted to make. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the GFG suggested using half the pastry to make a kringle- intriguing. I've been on a quest for a yummy GF pastry for some time now and this recipe is a winner. Flaky (I have to warn you, there is nothing healthy about this recipe), fruity and it has icing!

Ricotta Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups white rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the butter, ricotta cheese and sour cream. Mix ingredients well with a pastry fork. Chill in the refrigerator at least two hours (longer is better). Roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Once you have the desired size, remove the top piece of plastic wrap and use the bottom piece of plastic warp to carefully invert the crust into the pie plate, shape and remove plastic. Bake as directed for recipe. If recipe calls for a baked crust, use a fork to poke holes all over the crust and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Kringle

• 1/2 dough from ricotta pastry recipe
• 1 can any GF pie filling or jam
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Roll out the pastry between two sheets of plastic wrap into a rectangle about 10 inches by 16 inches. Remove top layer of plastic. Spoon half the pie filling down the center of the dough (jam also works very well- for the kringles pictured, I used lemon curd and raspberry jam. I also made one with cherry pie filling. All delicious.) and use the plastic wrap to fold each side of the pastry over the filling. Flip over and place seam-side down on a greased cookie sheet- this is the tricky part. Slash diagonal slits across the top about every two inches. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400. While baking, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and milk. Drizzle the resulting icing over the kringles while still hot. Cut into pieces and serve.

Coming soon: the other half of the Ricotta Pastry become a Lemon Berry Tarte!