Gluten-Free Pie Crust with Sour Cream

Method

1. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, and whisk to combine well.
2. Add the chopped and chilled butter, and toss to coat it in the dry ingredients.
3. Flatten each chunk of butter between your thumb and forefinger to make flat shards of butter, coated fully in flour.
4. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients with the butter shards, add the sour cream, and mix to moisten the dry ingredients with the sour cream. The dough should be shaggy and still somewhat crumbly.
5. If there are any portions of the dough that are especially dry, try to isolate them in the mixing bowl, drizzle ice water by the teaspoon on only those parts and then mix to moisten them.
6. Drizzle in more ice water only as necessary to moisten lightly all of the dry ingredients. Knead the dough together with clean hands until it begins to come together.
7. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and press into a disk as you close the plastic wrap around the dough. It will still seem rough.
8. Place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 min.
9. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Grease a 23-cm (9-inch) metal pie plate generously and set aside.
10. Once the dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and sprinkle the top lightly with more flour.
11. Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle that is about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick, moving the dough frequently and sprinkling it lightly with flour if it begins to stick. Fold the dough over on itself in thirds like you would a business letter.
12. Sprinkle the dough again lightly with flour, and roll out the dough once again into a rough rectangle about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick. Fold again in thirds.
13. Working quickly, sprinkle the dough lightly with flour, and roll out once more into a rough rectangle, for a total of 3 times. Fold the dough in thirds again, then fold in the sides to make a square packet of dough. Press the dough together, and try to round the sides into a disk.
14. If the dough feels warm at all, or like the butter is melting, cover it with plastic wrap and chill it until the butter is firm again.
15. Roll the dough out into an approximately 28-cm (11-inch) round, about 10 mm (3/8-inch) thick. Roll from the middle to the edges in every direction to help create a round. If the dough splits on the edges, pinch them together.
16. Roll the pie crust loosely onto the rolling pin and then unroll it over the prepared pie plate.
17. Trim any especially rough edges of the crust with kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Lift up the edges of the pie crust gently to create slack in the crust, and place the crust neatly on the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.
18. Tuck the excess pie crust under itself along the perimeter of the crust, where it overhangs the pie plate. Crimp the edge gently all the way around the crust by pinching the dough at regular intervals with one hand, and creating a crimped impression with the forefinger of the other hand.
19. Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill until firm, at least 30 min (and up to 3 days).
20. For parbaking: remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and unwrap and discard the plastic. Pierce the bottom of the pie crust all over with the tines of a fork.
21. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the raw crust and fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans. Filling the pie crust will help keep the bottom from expanding and the edges from falling down into the pie dish.
22. Place the plate in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 10 min, or until the crust is just beginning to turn very lightly golden brown on some edges.
23. Remove the pie weights and parchment. The bottom of the crust should be less shiny but not browned. If it’s still shiny, brush the bottom of the crust with the optional egg white, and return the pie crust to the oven and bake for another 2–4 min. Allow the parbaked crust to cool before proceeding with the recipe.

Notes

• Use a balanced multipurpose gluten-free flour blend. If your blend already contains xanthan gum, omit the added xanthan.
• Dairy-free options: replace the butter with 3 Tbsp shortening + 3 Tbsp vegan block butter. Substitute the sour cream with nondairy sour cream or Greek-style nondairy yogurt.
• Water-only version: skip the sour cream and increase baking powder to 2.5 ml (½ tsp). Start with 90 ml ice water and add more by the teaspoon as needed.
• Parbaking & blind baking: parbake with weights at 190°C/375°F for 10 min. For no-bake fillings, after parbaking, bake 10–12 min more until golden. Optional: brush the crust with egg white before the second bake for extra moisture protection.

Storage

• Store the dough raw: wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate up to 3 days; or wrap twice (plastic + zip-top bag) and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then rest at room temperature 10 min before rolling.
• Store a shaped crust: shape in the pan, wrap tightly, and freeze up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen—add 15°C (25°F) to the oven temperature for the first 10 min, then reduce to 190°C/375°F.
• Store a parbaked crust: best used the same day. If needed, cool completely, wrap tightly, and use within 24 h.

Read labels and use packaged or processed ingredients that are certified gluten-free.