Some people are unable to digest gluten, and therefore anything made with wheat (and that includes all-purpose flour) is off-limits. For them, most pies are verboten, usually because of the crust. Here is a rice flour dough that makes a rich, sandy-textured crust, and it is wheat free! It is also delicious; I have served it to people who never suspected it did not contain wheat. The composition of this dough makes it easier to handle when made with butter rather than shortening. I especially like it for a fully baked shell, with a cream or chiffon filling. Of course, you must still be knowledgeable of the other ingredients in a recipe, and of your own health needs. This makes enough for a 9-inch pie shell; double the recipe for a two-crust 9-inch pie. The recipe comes from San Francisco writer Jacqueline Mallorca, whose wheatless recipes make gluten-free cooking a pleasure, not a penance.
Makes one 9-inch pie shell
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup potato starch flour
½ cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 egg, chilled
Few drops of cold water, if needed
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, salt, and sugar. Process for a moment to mix the ingredients evenly. Add the butter and process in rapid on-off pulses until the mixture resembles fine meal. With the motor running, add the egg through the feed tube, and process just until the dough barely holds together in a ball. If the dough seems dry, add a few drops of water. Dust your work surface with brown rice flour and scrape the dough onto it. Push and pat it into a cake about 4 inches across. At this point, I find the dough easier to roll out if it is wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for about an hour, especially if the kitchen is warm.
Place the dough between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap and roll it into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter. Rotate the dough and turn it over occasionally to get an even thickness, and try to keep the shape as round as possible. Peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and flip the dough into a 9-inch pie pan, so that the plastic wrap is up. Peel off the second sheet of plastic wrap. Press and pat the dough evenly into the pan. If it tears, push it back together, and use trimmings from the edge to patch any holes. Trim and flute the edges (see page 22). Place in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
The pie shell is now ready to be filled or baked first and then filled, depending on the recipe. Detailed instructions for fully baked pie shells are on page 22.