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The Types Of Flour You Need To Make Delicious Gluten-Free Pie Crust

A variety of flours in open glass containers - Maria_lapina/Getty Images

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When you're living the gluten-free life, it can often feel as though you're missing out, especially where desserts are concerned. When you watch others enjoying their flour-y cookies (why oh why doesn't Crumbl have gluten-free options?), cakes, and especially store-bought pies, you know you've got to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself. So, what types of flour do you need to make not just a passable gluten-free pie crust, but an actual tasty and flaky dessert, so that you can also celebrate Pi Day?

According to Jerrelle Guy, food blogger, author of "Black Girl Baking," and owner of the website Chocolate For Basil, you can use a 1:1 ratio of pre-mixed gluten-free flour to regular flour along with your other pie crust ingredients. Guy also explains that "you can experiment with a blend of different gluten-free flours based on their particular characteristics: Rice flour and sorghum flours are good neutral bases and create a more traditional, flaky pie texture because they have a light, fine crumb and they're both mild in flavor."

Read more: Peanut Butter, Ranked From Worst To Best

The Ties That Bind (The Pies)

A person's hands kneading dough on a wooden surface - Howard George/Getty Images

Of course, because you're making your own gluten-free flour blend from various starches, you'll need to add a component that will help hold the dough together, both as you're working with it and after it's baked. Jerrelle Guy notes that "you'll need something like xanthan gum, psyllium husk, or guar gum to bind the dough and give it some elasticity so it doesn't crumble apart."

Psyllium husk is likely your best bet. Bonus — it's full of fiber and is derived from plantain seeds, so you're not only enjoying a delicious pie at the end of your labors, you're aiding your digestive system too. This ingredient makes the dough workable, and it also gives the finished product some chew. Psyllium husk also comes in powder form, but because the powder is so fine, it can absorb more moisture, so you would use less than regular psyllium husk. Especially if you're a novice gluten-free baker, it's probably best to just use whole psyllium husk, following the amount called for in the recipe.

Tips For Baking Gluten-Free Pie Crust

A glass pie pan with a pat of butter in it - knelson20/Shutterstock

Jerrelle Guy also has a few tips for making your gluten-free pie crust. "Gluten-free dough tends to be a bit more delicate, so you'll need to handle it gently to avoid crumbling," she says. "It also tends to crack more easily when you're rolling it out, so rolling between two sheets of parchment paper is especially helpful here -- just pinch edges together if they happen to tear." Once your dough is rolled into a ball, you should put it in the fridge for at least half an hour (and up to two days if you're making it ahead) so that it gets less sticky and it's easier to roll out, too.

Guy continues, "When baking, gluten-free pie crusts might bake faster too, so you may want to lower the oven temperature slightly to avoid over-browning." You can keep an eye on your pie crust while it's baking up if you use a glass pie pan (a simple Pyrex one will do the job), as glass lets you view the bottom of the crust and use visual clues — the color has turned golden brown, for example — to check if your pie is done.

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Gluten-free Christmas Cake

The day before you plan to bake, finely grate the zest from one orange and squeeze the juice of both, and place in a mixing bowl. Add the raisins, sultanas, currants, glace cherries and mixed peel. Add 4 tablespoons of the brandy, mix well, cover and leave at room temperature overnight for the fruit to plump and absorb the juice and brandy. (You can speed up this process by heating the mixture on a low setting in the microwave for 1–2 minutes and then leaving at room temperature for about 2 hours.)

19 Classic And Creative Hanukkah Desserts, From Ramen Kugel To Apple Cake

You'll need more than eight nights to enjoy these classic and creative Hanukkah desserts — of course, these rich, satisfying, and celebratory sweets can be enjoyed all year round. Find doughnut recipes with roots across the Mediterranean and Europe, babkas, kugels, cookies, apple and honey cakes, and more. Light the candles, and break out the desserts!

01 of 19

Date and Walnut Rugelach with Tahini Glaze Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen In these spiced rugelach from Faith Kramer, a satisfying and sweet date and walnut filling is wrapped in a cardamom- and cinnamon-scented dough with a lemony tahini glaze drizzled on top.

02 of 19

Orange Soufflé Coffee Cake James Ransom / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless An airy Bundt cake fragrant with orange and draped in silky chocolate, Ruth Reichl's elegant coffee cake can be served any time of day.

03 of 19

Sweet Noodle Kugel with Dried Cherries Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle A classic for good reason, this custardy and comforting sweet noodle kugel is studded with dried cherries and topped with crunchy pecans and cornflakes.

04 of 19

Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot. Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley A cream-centered take on sufganiyot, this classic Hanukkah dessert is fried before it's tossed in cinnamon sugar and filled with cardamom pastry cream.

05 of 19

Cinnamon-Apple Babka Cinnamon-Apple Babka. Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley This gooey cinnamon-apple babka is baked in a skillet and can be served for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Slice apples super thin to ensure a more workable dough while rolling.

06 of 19

Coconut Macaroon Brownies Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Paige Grandjean and Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely This mashup of brownies and macaroons is one we didn't know we needed ⁠— and happens to be gluten free.

07 of 19

Apple Sharlotka Food & Wine / Photo by Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans A Hanukkah dessert that hails from Russia, this recipe combines thinly sliced apples, nutmeg, and almond extract in a light and fluffy apple cake that's then dusted in confectioners' sugar.

08 of 19

Honigkuchen (Gluten-Free Honey Cake) Victor Protasio A gluten-free honey cake inspired by a 13th-century German cookbook, this moist and malty dessert stands the test of time.

09 of 19

Black and Ruby Cookies Farrah Skeiky A new spin on the iconic New York City classic, this recipe from Paola Velez pairs the familiar dark chocolate with a fruity ruby chocolate ganache on beautiful, celebratory cookies.

10 of 19

Hanukkah Doughnuts John Kernick A classic Hanukkah doughnut, or sufganiyot, from Andrew Zimmern, these are coated in cinnamon sugar and filled with strawberry jam.

11 of 19

Coconut Macaroons David Malosh These delightfully simply coconut macaroons only have five ingredients (not counting the bittersweet-chocolate drizzle) and are as unfussy as they are delicious.

12 of 19

Chocolate Babka Con Poulos This decadent chocolate babka from baker Melissa Weller goes all in on the cocoa: bittersweet and milk chocolate as well as ground-up chocolate wafer cookies make up the filling, while a glaze incorporating both bittersweet and milk chocolate is poured on top.

13 of 19

Doughnuts in Cardamom Syrup Keller & Keller Sweet, spicy, and crunchy, these doughnuts are perfect Hanukkah desserts that deserve to be made year round. The dough, toasted almonds, and cardamom syrup can all be prepared a day in advance.

14 of 19

Bimuelos with Cranberry Curd and Cardamom Honey Dan Perez / Food Styling and Prop Styling by Nurit Kariv The doughnut varieties are many: Bimuelos are a Sephardic equivalent of the Ashkenazi sufganiyot with strong roots in Spain and Latin America. These fried dough balls are doused in cardamom-laced honey and cranberry curd.

15 of 19

Honey Cake with Citrus Frosting John Kernick This light and tender honey cake is infused with hints of coffee and orange juice and topped with candied orange slices complementing the zesty, citrus frosting.

16 of 19

Sfinj (Moroccan Doughnuts) Christine Han These doughnuts — hailing from Morocco — have a crispy exterior and fluffy interior. This recipe serves them with a saffron and cardamom syrup.

17 of 19

Honey Tahini Cookies Anja Schwerin These chewy gluten-free tahini cookies, rolled in sesame seeds, taste "like elegant, interesting versions of peanut butter cookies," says one F&W editor. 

18 of 19

Apple-Raisin Crumb Cake Stephanie Meyer Andrew Zimmern shares a crumb cake laced with caramelized apples and pecan streusel, the perfect companion for an afternoon — or after dinner — cup of coffee.

19 of 19

Ramen Kugel Ian Knauer A variation on the classic sweet casserole, this homey and satisfying kugel is made with ramen noodles.

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