Gluten Free Sour Cherry Pie

When it comes to gluten, I have to admit I am a huge fan. However, I am empathetic for those who have adverse reactions to gluten. I know a heaping handful of people that simply can't tolerate gluten. I only know of 2  folks who have Celiac's disease.

Celiac's disease is a genetically predisposed autoimmune disorder. The ingestion of gluten can cause damage to the small intestines and severely reduces the body's ability to absorb nutrients. A person with Celiac's can be so sensitive to gluten, even particles in the air can cause their bodies to react poorly.

If you remember the Butternut Squash Soup 2 Ways post, you may recall, Megan has a slight intolerance to gluten. She has made the choice to live gluten free and taught me her favorite gluten free pie crust recipe.

Megan brought with her, The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook. This is where she found the pie crust recipe. This cookbook is a must have for those who live life gluten free. The author does a great job explaining the what, the why and the how to perfecting gluten free baking.

For best results, use a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. For this particular pie crust, we did use a lot of Bob's Red Mill products. This product wasn't specified for use in the cookbook, but I know I've been pleased with the results of Bob's Red Mill products.

Let us start with the GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND:

24 ounces (4 1/2 cups) of Bob's Red Mill White Rice Flour

7 1/2 ounces (1 2/3 cups) Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Flour

7 ounces (1 1/3 cups) Potato Starch

3 ounces (3/4 cup) Tapioca Starch

3/4 ounces (3 tablespoons) Nonfat Milk Powder

Whisk all the ingredients together and store in an air tight container for up to 3 months.

DOUBLE PIE CRUST:

5 tablespoons of ice water

3 tablespoons of sour cream

1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, unseasoned

13 ounces (2 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) Gluten Free Flour Blend, recipe above

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Bob's Red Mill Xanthan gum

16 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces and frozen fro 10-15 minutes

In a small bowl, combine the water, sour cream and vinegar.

In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar, salt and xanthan gum for about five seconds.

PREPARATION TIP: Don't leave out the xanthan gum. This ingredient is crucial to the structure of the pie dough. Xanthan gum is used often in gluten free baking and as a food additive.

Scatter the butter over the top of the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is the size of large peas, about 10 pulses.

Pour half of the sour cream mixture over the flour, pulse until incorporated, about 3 pulses. Pour remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until the dough comes together, about 6 pulses.

Divide the dough into 2 even balls. Turn each dough ball onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a 5 inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Before rolling, let the dough warm up a bit for about 10 minutes on the counter. Between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, roll the dough into a 12 inch circle. Line the bottom of the pie pan with one of the rolled out dough circles. Freeze for 15 minutes and then continue with filling your pie and baking. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Use this double pie crust for the Sour Cherry Pie filling below or try it with my Apple Pie,Apple Cheddar Feta Crostata or Peach Pie

SOUR CHERRY FILLING: 

3 cups of sour cherries

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine cherries, sugar and lemon juice.

In a small cup, whisk together a small amount of cold water with the cornstarch. Add the cornstarch to the cherries and bring to a boil. The cherry juice will soon start to thicken. Once that happens, remove from the heat.

Now it's time to build your SOUR CHERRY PIE:

Fill your already prepared bottom layer of the crust with the cherry filling. Lay the second layer of pie dough over the top. Crimp the edges together with a fork or fingers. Stick a knife through the top of the crust a few times. This will allow for steam to billow from the filling without harming the crust. Be creative here.

In a small bowl, beat an egg and brush the egg wash over the crust. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for an additional 40 minutes or until the pie is done. Let the pie cool completely before slicing.

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Don't let the GLUTEN FREE fool you. I promise, you will lick the plate clean!