Gluten-Free Pie Crust

When I mentioned my Wheat-free crust recipe to a friend with Celiac disease, she took it on herself to adapt it into a fully gluten-free recipe. I'm reprinting it here. Credit goes to Ruth-Anne Ladue...

2C rice flour; Asian brands are less gritty
1 tsp. kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp. regular salt)
2 tsp xanthan gum (essential!)
½ C plus 1Tbsp. salted butter
2 extra large eggs (or 4 small eggs, or 3 large eggs) Don't skimp here - it makes a big difference
2 tsp. lemon juice
lukewarm water

IMPORTANT! Make sure the eggs and butter are warmed to room temperature. You want the butter to be solid, but not cold. THIS IS CRUCIAL! [She has later amended this with "I've found that this makes a nicer crust the warmer the butter is ... I did the crust a couple of times during the very warm summer, and the butter was practically melted. made for great crust!"]

Blend together flour, salt and xanthan gum, then cut in butter with a pastry tool or butter knife. You want the butter to be down to small grains, like coarse cornmeal.

Mix together the egg and lemon juice, then cut into the flour mix, half at a time. Blend it well after each addition. Then add water a teaspoon or two at a time, blending very well; you don't want to make it too wet. I can't tell you exactly how much water I used, but it was more than the original recipe. When it starts to clump together and look like dough, you're done. Now, work the dough a little with your hands to make it smooth.

Form the dough into two balls. Get two sheets of plastic wrap and spray them lightly with vegetable oil - Pam spray is fine, and it's GF. Lay one sheet down sprayed side up on a board or rolling sheet and place the dough in the middle. Place the second sheet sprayed side down on top of the dough. Roll the dough to the appropriate size with the rolling pin. I try to make the dough fairly thin, as it browns better, tastes better and isn't tough. Take the top plastic off, and place the pie pan (I use glass pie pans) over the dough, and invert your board/sheet. Remove board/sheet and plastic wrap. Ease the dough down into the pan, smooth it out, trim the edges.

Roll out the second crust per instructions above. Fill the bottom crust with the filling. Bring filled pie pan to where the second crust has been rolled. Take off the top plastic sheet, and gently pick up the crust and carefully invert on top of the filling (this is where a rolling sheet works better than a board). Remove the bottom plastic sheet that is now on top. Press edges of both crusts together and crimp or flute. Cut vents in the top crust using a sharp knife. Brush the crust with an egg beaten with a little water, and sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top.

The crust turns out firm not flaky - I'm not sure you CAN make a flaky GF pie crust - but it looks and tastes good. I had very little problem with cracking using the plastic wrap method of rolling, and what few cracks I had were easily patched.