Gluten-free pastry

Finally, we’ve cracked gluten-free pastry! For anyone who has tried to make this in the past you’ll know how difficult it is. It crumbles, falls apart and is not your friend. But, after lots of attempts and years of trying this recipe finally works. Hurrah!

Makes approx 400g/ 14 oz pastry

Ingredients

• 90g/3 oz Lucy Bee coconut oil (not too hard)
• 250g/1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour
• ¼ tsp xanthan gum
• Pinch of Himalayan salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 5 tbsp cold water

Method

1. Put the coconut oil, flour, xanthan gum and salt into a food processer and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and cold water and blitz again until it comes together and forms a dough. Remove and mould briefly into a round then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

2. Roll out the chilled pastry between two sheets of cling film until about 3mm/1 1/8 in thick and big enough to line a loose-based 23cm/9 in diameter fluted tart tin. Gently peel off the top sheet of cling film and carefully invert the pastry into the tin. Remove the second sheet of cling film and press the pastry gently into the fluted edges of the tin. If the pastry tears a little, use your fingers to gently mould the pastry into the gaps. Neaten off the top edge of the pastry using a knife and place in the freezer to chill for 5 minutes.

3. Remove the pastry from the freezer and line with baking parchment and ceramic baking beans. Blind bake in the middle of the oven for 10–15 minutes until the pastry just begins to colour, then remove the baking beans and parchment and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5 minutes, to cook the base. Remove and leave the pastry case to cool in the tin before adding your filling. This freezes well.

Tips and notes

Freezes well. Defrost thoroughly before using in a recipe.

From Coconut Oil: Recipes for Real Life. Recipe text © 2016 Lucy Bee Limited.