Good gluten free food is not always easy to find or bake. One has to get gluten free advice from experts. Often home-baked can be better than store-bought and offers an enjoyable time for anyone who likes to bake. As Thanksgiving comes and apples are freshly harvested, apple pie may be a fall favourite. For a worthy experiment and a gluten free treat, try this recipe for gluten free apple pie.
Pie Crust:
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 2 ½ cups gluten free flour
- ½ tsp guar gum
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- warm water
- Will make two 9″ round pie crusts.
A Few Pie Crust Tips:
In a large bowl, mix the shortening, the flour and the guar gum together with a fork or a spoon. Mix in a small amount of water. Dough should be pasty. Mix in the sugar, cinnamon and salt when the dough is near proper consistency. Flatten the dough into a 9″ round pie pan. Gluten free pie crust has a tendency to be fairly tasteless and crumbly, as the flour is very fine and has little flavour to it. The cinnamon, sugar and salt will make it more palatable. Guar gum should help it keep the right consistency, but the crust may still be sticky. If it feels more sticky than pasty, try adding a bit of flour.
Because it tends to be sticky, the dough does not usually roll flat very well. In which case, it may work better to place the dough in the pie dish and flatten by hand. Also, because the dough does not roll out well, a layer of crust on the top may not be feasible. The pie is just as good without it.
If the intent is to make only one pie, cutting the ingredients in half may work just as well; however, the extra dough can be wrapped and refrigerated for future use.
Apple Filling:
- 3 large apples – crisp, juicy apples work best
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- ginger
- white sugar
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
Will fill one pie.
Baking Instructions and Tips:
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Peel, core and slice each apple. Apple corers work well, as they do all three actions at once and cut good sized slices. If done by hand, make slices approximately 1 cm or ½ inch thick. Mix the lemon juice with the apple pieces. Spread the mixture evenly in the unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and white sugar over the apple.
- With these spices, there is room for experiment. They have no particular measurements; however, nutmeg and ginger are more potent than cinnamon and sugar. One must be careful to use less nutmeg and ginger and more cinnamon and sugar so that the flavours are balanced.
- Mix ½ cup brown sugar with a small amount of soft unsalted butter. For those who have sensitivity to dairy products, substitute the butter with margarine. Sprinkle the mixture over the pie.
- Place pie in the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Every oven is different and baking times may vary. Check the pie after 1 hour. Upon removing the pie, the crust may appear well browned but remain soft. It should harden some as it cools.
Enjoy home-baked, gluten free apple pie from scratch. If the pie is not what was expected the first time, simply try again and modify the measurements until the recipe is to taste.