Gluten and Dairy free pastry ~ which melts in the mouth
The beauty of this pastry is, you can keep kneading and rolling it out again until used up, whereas wheat flour pastry can only be rolled out twice otherwise it ends up hard and chewy when cooked.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Author: Lilwood
Ingredients
8oz Gluten Free flourI use Glebe or Dove Gluten free bread flour as they don't contain cornflour
1tspBaking PowderGluten free. This makes the pastry melt in the mouth
4oz Dairy free margarineI use 'Pure' Sunflower or Soya spread
½teaspoonSalt
1Egg - lightly beaten
Instructions
Put flour, fat, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and mix up with a fork until a crumbly mix.
Gradually stir in the egg mixture until it's a nice pliable dough.
Place in an air tight container, put in a plastic bag or wrap in cling film until needed and store in the fridge.
If you want to use it immediately, leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or it will be too sticky to roll out properly.
It is very difficult to lift without breaking. I find a cake slice works really well at lifting up small rounds but if you want a large piece for a pie dish. Slide something long and flat underneath to loosen it from the board, (an icing ruler works well) then pick the whole board up and slide the pastry on to the pie dish. It's easy to patch up this pastry though if you can't work it in one piece.
If you have any egg left, use it to glaze the pastry. Or beat another egg and paint it on with a pastry brush.
Notes
Wheat free pastry seems to last longer in the fridge than wheat based pastry. Or you can put it in the freezer to keep it even longer. Most gluten/wheat free recipes will tell you to make the dough as dry as possible but I haven’t found this the case at all. I make it to the same consistency I used to make ordinary wheat flour shortcrust pastry. It's the addition of water that makes it hard. There's no water in this recipe.If the mixture is too sticky, just add a bit more flour until it's workable