Why butter instead of shortening?

The two most common fat options for pie crust are butter and shortening. I grew up making pie crust with shortening, and I will happily admit that it is an easy ingredient to work with. Even so, I am now firmly team butter, and I would not go back.

Butter brings a depth of flavor that shortening - not even butter-flavored shortening - can provide. And when you are already navigating texture challenges in gluten free baking, flavor matters even more.

Shortening does have its strengths. Because it stays solid longer than butter, it makes dough easier to handle and can contribute to a more tender, workable pastry. But for me, the tradeoff in flavor is not worth it. Butter gives this crust the richness that makes the whole pie taste better.

Pie inspiration: a slice of gluten free pumpkin pie

Butter also feels like the more natural fit for my kitchen. Crisco, the shortening brand, was introduced in 1911 as a shelf-stable hydrogenated vegetable oil and was once celebrated as a modern improvement over traditional fats. Later, partially hydrogenated oils - the main source of artificial trans fat in the food supply - were found to be unsafe, and the FDA banned them in the United States. Today’s shortenings are different from the old trans-fat versions, but they are still highly processed ingredients with limited nutritional value, and I would rather build a pie crust around butter.^[source]

If you need a dairy-free option, coconut oil can work in place of the butter. It will change the flavor and may make the dough handle a bit differently, but it is a reasonable substitute if dairy is off the table.

A point of trivia: "officially" shortening means any fat used to make a dough "short," which is to say, tender and a little crumbly, like a pie crust or shortbread. Fats do this by coating the gluten in wheat-based pastry, so it can't stretch and form the textures more associated with bread. That said, most American bakers use the word to mean vegetable shortenings such as Crisco.

Tender vs. Flakey

When people talk about pastry, one of the first words that comes up is flaky. That texture usually comes from keeping small pieces or thin layers of cold fat in the dough. In the oven, those pieces melt, and in the case of butter, the water in the butter turns to steam, helping create delicate layers in the finished crust.^[source]

But flakiness is only one kind of pastry success. A really good pie crust can also be tender, rich, delicate, and full of flavor.

This crust is about tenderness first

This recipe does use cold butter - the queen of flakiness - so the finished crust is not flat or heavy. But dramatic flake is not the main goal here. Instead, this is a pie crust that bakes up tender, lightly crumbly, and satisfying to eat. Its the kind of crust that supports the filling beautifully and still tastes wonderful on its own.

In fact, if you end up with extra pie dough, a great use of it is to bake it up in the oven with a little cinnamon and sugar sprinkled over the top. It bakes up like a cookie or tea biscuit - great as a little treat with tea or coffee.

In a traditional wheat crust, flakiness and structure depend heavily on how flour, fat, and gluten interact. In a gluten free crust, the balance is different. Rather than chasing maximum layers at all costs, this recipe aims for something I find even more important: a crust that just works for every single pie.

Rolling, Latticing, and Decorating

As a gluten free pie crust, this dough is more delicate. But that does not mean that fancy elements are not achievable, they just require a little bit more care.

For every step of rolling out your bottom crust, top crust (if relevant), or designing decorations, you want to keep your dough cool, but not cold. Cool, because you do not want to melt the butter, or turn the dough into a sticky mess. But not so cold that you cannot manipulate the dough; if the dough is fresh out of the refrigerator (because you were, say, cooling it down, or making it ahead), it will be far too hard to roll. You are aiming for a range just under room temperature.

Rolled out pie crust

Rolling out the pie crust

As with regular pie dough, parchment paper is your friend. Tear out two sheets of parchment paper - one to go underneath your dough, and one to go over. They should be slightly bigger than you anticipate your full round of dough being. Lay the bottom layer out flat, and sprinkle a little brown rice flour over it. Place your pie dough in the middle, and sprinkle with more rice flour, then lay your second layer of parchment paper on top.

Roll your dough out to your desired thickness, using that top layer of parchment paper to keep your rolling pin from sticking. Once your dough circle is big enough, peel off the top layer of parchment, and transfer your round to the pie plate. Flip the dough over, and peel off the back parchment paper.

If all went well, you should have a mostly intact and flat layer of pie dough draped over your pie plate, ready to be cut to shape. But if you're like me, there's probably at least a crack or two in your dough. Use any excess dough to patch up cracks, and make sure you have an even amount of crust the whole way around. If your dough is too dry to stick to itself, a little water can be added to smooth over any patches.

The art of lattice crusts with gluten-free dough

Lattice crusts are definitely one of the trickier pie decorations, especially with gluten free dough. But they are still very doable.

To begin, roll out a round of dough large enough to cover the top of the pie, then cut it into even strips. Carefully transfer half your strips to your filled pie, laying them all going in one direction, spaced evenly. Make sure to use a spatula or butter knife during transfer to support each strip; remember, they are delicate.

Now gently fold back every other strip, and lay a new strip across the center in the opposite direction. Unfold the first set, fold back the alternating strips, and continue weaving until the pattern is complete. That folding and unfolding will possibly cause cracks - use some water to patch them up, and then keep weaving.

This technique will work better with thicker strips, to give it more stability. And the good news is, the natural texture of the lattice itself provides plenty of opportunities to cover up imperfections.

Gluten-free apple pie with leaf decorations

Gluten-free pecan cheesecake pie

Gluten-free rustic berry pie

Dough decorations

This is honestly an easier route to go with gluten-free pie dough. Roll out your dough, and cut out your desired shapes - either with a knife, or a cookie cutter. Use a spatula or butter knife to carefully detach them from the parchment paper, and place on top of your pie - or on a baking sheet, if you are baking them separately.

This dough is sturdy enough to handle leaves, fruits, and other relatively solid shapes very well without crumbling or breaking.

Flour Choice, and Substitutions

As with every recipe, the choice of flour is key to making this one work. There are, however, some options when it comes to substituting flours.

Sorghum

The sorghum flour adds wholemeal body, nutrition, and pairs really well with the butter and sugar content of this recipe. It does not have much in the way of any binding properties of its own, however. So in a pinch, you may have luck substituting it for rice flour (either brown or sweet white rice), or a store bought gluten free flour mix. The result will be a softer and slightly stickier dough, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just adjust the water content as needed to bring the dough together.

I would not try to substitute in a nut or coconut based flour here, since those have very different properties.

If you are curious about the properties of sorghum flour, I have more information in my sorghum flour baking guide.

Almond Flour

I like almond flour because it produces a nice result while also being pretty widely available and easy to stock in my pantry. That said, you can substitute in other nut flours, and still get similar results. Just be mindful of the fact that different nut flours will bring in different tastes.

No-bake pies, and blind baking

Generally, if a pie crust needs to be baked before adding the filling, the recipe will specify the exact conditions. But if you find yourself without a recipe, venturing out into the wilds of experimentation, here's a few tips on baking this pie crust.

Blind Baking

Blind baking, or parbaking, a crust refers to the process where you partially bake a crust without filling. This is a useful technique if your filling is more liquid, and you don't want it to soak into your bottom crust. My pumpkin pie recipe uses this technique.

To blind bake this pie crust, do the following:

• Preheat your oven to 375°F.
• Roll out your bottom pie crust, and place in the pie plate. Crimp or decorate the edges as desired.
• Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dry beans. If you are using dry beans, note that you will not be able to eat them in the future, but you can save them to blind bake future pies.
• Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust just begins to turn golden.

Gluten-free pie crust, ready to go into the oven

Baking the pie crust for a no-bake pie recipe

Some recipes do best when the pie crust is fully baked before adding the filling - for instance, certain pudding or cheesecake based pies, or even some more delicate berry pies like strawberry.

To fully bake this pie crust, do the following:

• Preheat your oven to 375°F.
• Roll out your bottom pie crust, and place in the pie plate. Crimp or decorate the edges as desired.
• Prick the bottom of your pie crust with the tines of a fork. This will keep it from rising up in the oven, while still allowing it to fully bake.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crust turns golden.