This recipe for gluten free sweet short pastry is easy to make and can be used for so many different dessert recipes. Once you have this recipe then all kinds of tarts and pies become an easy option. Maybe you have box of apples from your tree or pears from the neighbours. You might want to try making the most delicious pumpkin pie like the one I make at Easter and Thanksgiving. Here is the link if you want to give it a go https://mynaturalcottage.com/2022/11/29/best-ever-gluten-free-homemade-pumpkin-pie/
How we ended up being gluten free
I look back to before I had children and realise that eating gluten free probably would have made me feel a lot better. Or at least I would have been better eating only wholegrains and avoiding highly processed flours. When my first child was born I found I could not eat dairy. If I did he would be very sick. After about 6 months I had to add soy and egg to the list. And he could not eat gluten by his first birthday . At this point I thought what if he does not grow out of his gluten allergy? I had better learn how to make a gluten free birthday cake. All three of my children need to be gluten free in varying degrees. We can eat eggs and some dairy again but I choose farm milk in glass bottles and artisan cheese. We still use vegan cheese and yoghurt because we like it! In the past 12 years I have made many birthday cakes. And the requests for different kinds of baking have led me along the gluten free path.
How to make the best ever gluten free sweet short pastry
The pastry is supposed to be light and melt in your mouth. Sweet short pastry, or pate sable, is simple to make gluten free. Wheat flour in short pastry can be over worked which releases the gluten. As a result, the pastry will become tough and heavy. Not at all what you want when biting into slice of apple tart or a Christmas mince pie like the ones I make here https://mynaturalcottage.com/2022/01/19/bite-sized-christmas-mince-pies-using-local-ingredients/ . You can use a mix or gluten free flours such as rice flour, tapioca flour, millet and cornflour. I love adding ground almonds to recipes as they add flavour and texture as well as extra nutrients and oils. I use a little xanthum gum so the pastry holds together and can be rolled out easily.
Savoury gluten free short pastry
This pastry is good for savoury recipes such as quiche. I do not use it quite so often but in winter time mini quiches make a good lunch box or picnic option when the weather is cold. I use the same recipe and replace the icing sugar or orange zes with extra salt and a pinch of paprika. A handful of grated parmesan will add even more flavour.
Dairy free
I do use butter more often now than I used to, but for many years all my cooking had to be dairy free. I like using organic butter as the ingredients list is short. However, I still use a dairy free margarine for making this pastry and it works just fine. It is easier to work with than butter and sometimes easier tips the balance. Especially if I am feeling like an easy day. Often my family prefers the dairy free option as we are used to it and generally we all feel better if we keep dairy for the occasional use.
How to make light and delicate pastry
I live in a cold climate for most of the year and have cold hands. We keep our eggs in the pantry which is a cool storage place. This makes it easier to keep the pastry light and would matter even more if using wheat flour. It is good to keep the butter or margarine cold to get a great result. But it is not as important as it would be with wheat flour. I have made this pastry recipe in a warm climate and it was just as good without chilling the eggs or bowl beforehand.
Step by step instructions
Weigh the butter into a large bowl so you can use just one bowl to mix the pastry.
Put the ground almonds into the bowl adding slowly so as to get the correct weight.
Sift the gluten free flours and sugar over the butter and ground almonds.
If you prefer, you can weigh the dry ingredients, including the ground almonds in to a smaller bowl first. Then give them a light sift using a whisk before adding to the butter.
Use a fork to mix the butter and dry ingredients. This takes a little elbow grease, dairy free margarine is definitely easier by hand. A food processor works well if you have one. Just add all the ingredients in the same way to the food processor instead of the bowl.
Next add the eggs and the vanilla. I have used two eggs as I made a double recipe. The pastry keeps well wrapped in parchment and stored in a clean container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Bring the dough together using your hands to shape it into a ball.
Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking parchment. The pastry is so much more manaeable this way. Gluten free pastry is a little more crumbly and this way you will not have to had more flour in the rolling out process. The pastry will stay light and have a delicate texture.
If you are making smaller tartlets, you can cut rounds to press into a tray. Otherwise for a large tart you can place the rolled pastry into the tart dish and press it into place using your fingers. This would make wheat pastry tough but not with my favourite gluten free pastry.
Light and Easy Gluten Free Sweet Short Pastry
A great pastry for use in all kinds of tarts and pies, it is light and delicate and gluten free.
Ingredients
- 240 grams gluten free flour (I used 120g brown rice flour, 80g tapioca flour, 40g cornflour)
- 40 grams fine ground almond flour
- 50 grams icing sugar (the zest of one orange makes a great sugar replacement or use both)
- pinch of salt
- 115 grams of non dairy margarine such as Olivani, or butter
- 1 small egg
Instructions
- Weigh the butter in a large bowl.
- You can use the same bowl for the whole recipe, just keep the scales on and zero each time you add a dry ingredient.
- If you prefer, weigh the flours, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt into a separate bowl and whisk lightly to sift.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter.
- Using a fork, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it has an even crumbly texture.
- Make a well in the centre of the crumbly mixture. Add the egg and vanilla. If you are using orange zest, add it with the egg and vanilla.
- Shape the pastry dough into a ball by hand. Tip the dough on to a piece of baking parchment and shape into a disc. Wrap the pastry in the parchment and rest it in the refrigerator for up to 30 mins or until you are ready to roll it out.
- The pastry dough will keep for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
- Roll out the pastry between two sheets of baking parchment. Cut rounds for small tartlets. These can be filled and baked immediately at 180C for about 12 - 15 mins depending on the filling.
- For a large tart, roll out the dough and lift into the dish using the baking parchment to help. You can press the dough into place by hand and fill any cracks with spare pastry pieces. I usually blind bake the tart shell before filling for 20 mins at 180C. I use the same piece of parchment and some ceramic baking beans. Uncooked rice works as a weight too and can be saved for reuse.
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