5 October 2016

Gluten free almond shortcrust pastry

Sandra basic recipes almond flour, gluten free, quiche, rice flour, shortcrust pastry, tart case 2 Comments

This light pastry made with rice flour and almond flour has a gentle and slightly sweet flavour, pairing well with any kind of filling. Prepared with rapeseed oil, it makes an ideal base for vegan quiches and tarts, but it’s also delicious as a case for our non-vegan pattypan squash and courgette tart with basil ricotta.

The use of oil and the light flour keep the dough pliable even when cold and it’s best handled when used straight from the fridge. It’s an easy dough to roll out. It has a tendency to break, though, but don’t let that discourage you: the pieces are so easily put together again you won’t notice it afterwards – you may check it in the picture above!

The result is a firm and crisp tart case.

Happy baking!

Gluten free almond shortcrust pastry – enough to fill 1 Ø 30 cm tin or 6 Ø 12 cm ones.

Ingredients

• 150 g rice flour
• 100 g almond flour
• 65 g corn starch
• ½ tsp. salt
• 60 ml rapeseed oil, sunflower oil or olive oil
• 60 ml cold water

 

Preparation

Mix the rice flour, almond flour, corn starch and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the oil and water and knead the mixture to a supple dough. If it stays moist, add a little extra rice flour; if it’s crumbly, add a bit more water.

Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least an hour before using. You could also prepare it a day ahead. The use of oil and the light flour keep the dough pliable even when cold and it’s best handled when used straight from the fridge.

Heat the oven to 180^oC/350^oF/Gas 4. Brush a baking tin with oil and dust it with rice flour.

Lightly knead the dough, shape it into a ball and place it onto a floured sheet of baking parchment. Flatten the ball a little, then cover it with a second parchment sheet. Roll out the dough until it’s a circle a few cm larger than the tin and about ½ cm thick.

Line the tin with the pastry. Prick the base all over with a fork to prevent it forming air bubbles. Cover the pastry case with one of the sheets of baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beans or dried rice. Blind bake the case for 10-12 minutes, then carefully remove the paper and beans.

At this stage, depending on the dish you are using it in, you can already start filling the pastry case, like we do in our pattypan squash and courgette tart recipe. Or, before filling, you can blind bake the case without the beans for 5 minutes more until it’s crisp.