GLUTEN FREE BLUEBERRY PIE RECIPE

I think every time I make a gluten free pie crust I'm convinced it's the best one I've ever made. But this one is really good! I used my usual gluten free blend from Bulk Barn and I was not disappointed. I've been using this Flour blend for about five years now and it works well with a lot of my baking projects. Gluten free pie crust has always been tricky to me but recently I've been enjoying making many different pies.

I've figured out after trying a lot of recipes and failing a lot that gluten free baking is not for the faint of heart. It sounds dramatic but it is. Baking in general is precise and gluten free baking is that to the tenth power. But once you let go of trying to replicate the baking process as you would with "regular baking" you'll do better. Once I learned that gluten free needs a lot of moisture and oils my baking improved. So now instead of adding more liquids and oils to compensate. I've learned that Buttermilk is my bestfriend when it comes to gluten free baking. It's been a game changer for my pie crust.

CRUST

3 Cups Gluten Free Flour 
1 3/4 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon 
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg 
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Butter (cold and cubed)
3/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1Tablespoon Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup Cold Buttermilk 
1 Egg

EGG WASH

1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Buttermilk 
1 Tsp Olive Oil

FILLING

4 Cups Fresh Bluberries 

1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Tsp All Spice
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Tablespoons Cornstarch 
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger sugar, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Add cold butter to the mixture. You can put them in a food process and mix until dough is crumbly. I mixed everything by hand. Once you get a crumbly consistency I made a whole in the center of the dough poured the cold butter milk, added the egg and olive oil. 

I learned this watching a French pastry chef on YouTube. I've been doing my pies this way ever since. I of course modified the ingredients for a gluten free pie crust.

Roll the dough into two discs. Wrap them in cling wrap and refrigerate. I kept them in the fridge for an hour. You can refrigerate them for up to four hours until you have to roll the dough.

2. Combine the bluberries, all spice and brown sugar on low heat. Add lemon juice. Then add corn starch. I added a few teaspoons of water to my cornstarch to liquefy it a bit before I poured it into the mixture. I did this so the cornstarch wouldn't get lumpy in the filling. Be sure not to over cook bluberries. Set aside to cool once the mixture is cooked. 

Alternatively you can combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and then transfer then to an empty pie shell and bake.

NOTE: I split my filling in half and did a combination of both. I didn't really notice a significant difference in filling texture after it cooked. 

3. Remove the pie discs from the fridge and roll out the two discs. The amount of flour used in this recipe is just enough for a 9 inch pie pan. Place one of the rolled out dough crusts into a greased 9 inch pan. Poke holes in the dough with a fork. I para baked the empty pie shell for 10 minutes. You can leave it for up to 12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. The the oven was at 400 F degrees.

Before putting the empty pie shell in the oven I places a round parchment paper over the pie crust. I filled it with chick peas as a weight. You can use bean or any pie weights you have.

Remove pie crust from the oven. Let it cool for a few minutes. Then remove the pie weights from your pie crust.

4. Fill the empty pie crust with your pie filling. Place the left over rolled out dough to cover the pie filling. Fold the upper crust over to cover the pie properly. You can shape the edges however you like.  I used cookie cutters for the top crust. Cover your top crust with your egg wash.

5. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. I placed a tent around my pie edges so they wouldn't get too crispy. Place the assembled pie into the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes. I reduced the heat to 375 degrees and baked for 40 - 50 minutes.