Y’all, I don’t think I tend to write very “chatty” posts to begin with, but I’ve seen about half a dozen Facebook posts over the previous week talking about how much people hate having to scroll past a lot of unrelated chatty nonsense in order to get to the actual recipe in a recipe post, and now that’s all I can think about!  So I’m going to tell you a couple quick things about the pie crust itself, and then we’ll get right to it.

I was pretty pleased with how easily this handled.  It’s delicate, but no more so than a “regular” pie crust. You could probably make it in a food processor, but I don’t have one, so I just made it by hand, and that’s what the following instructions are for.

I did not prebake this crust, because the recipe I was using didn’t require it, so I don’t yet know how that will work.  If I were going to prebake it, I’d try 350 degrees for 10 minutes (with pie weights or clean glass marbles inside to keep it from rising up in the middle) as a starting point. (Keep reading below the recipe for more step-by-step instructions with photos.)

(Easy) Paleo Pie Crust

Paleo Pie Crust

Rachel Ramey

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo

Servings 1 9-inch single crust

Ingredients

  

• 1-1/2 c. blanched almond flour
• 1/4 c. arrowroot powder starch/flour - they're all the same thing
• pinch fine unrefined sea salt I use RealSalt.
• 1/4 c. cold butter
• 2-4 Tbsp. very cold water

Instructions

 

• Measure almond flour, arrowroot powder, and starch into a medium bowl and whisk 'til well combined.
• Slice the butter and toss the slices in the flour mixture to coat, then cut in with a pastry cutter or two butter knives until most of the largest clumps are slightly smaller than pea-sized.
• Add water little by little until the dough comes together in a ball. (Only use as much as you need for this to happen.)
• Form dough into a ball with your hands, and place it in the center of a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper.
• Flatten the ball of dough into a disk with your hands.
• Top the dough with a second piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper, and roll out from the center to form a circle about 11 inches in diameter.
• Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap/waxed paper, and flip the dough into a lightly-greased pie pan. (Chill while you prepare your pie filling.)
• Bake and fill -OR- fill and bake according to the instructions in your recipe.

Step by Step

STEP 1: Measure almond flour, arrowroot powder, and salt into a medium bowl.  Whisk well to combine.  It will look a little crumbly because the almond flour is not very fine, but the appearance should mostly be like crumbs, not chunks or lumps.

Nature’s Eats Blanched Almond Flour, 32 OunceOrganic Arrowroot Flour (4lb) by Anthony’s, Batch Tested Gluten-Free, Non-GMORedmond Real Salt – Ancient Fine Sea Salt, Unrefined Mineral Salt, 16 Ounce Pouch

STEP 2: Slice up the butter, add it to the bowl, and toss the pieces to coat them.  (This just helps keep the slices from sticking back together.)  With a pastry cutter or two butter knives, cut in the butter until (most of) the lumps are slightly smaller than peas.  (Some will be finer, and a few might be a little larger, but most should be around this size.  The almond flour has a tendency to “stick” a little bit, so it might appear that your lumps are larger than they are.  If tapping them gently breaks them apart, they aren’t really “lumps.” It’s ultimately the little pieces of butter you want to see cut up.)

Mrs. Anderson’s Pastry Cutter, Stainless Steel Blades with Wood HandleSet of 3 Stainless Steel WhisksMixing Spoon Set, Professional Quality. Set of 3 (12-inch)

STEP 3: Add water little by little, until the dough forms into a ball.  (Only add just as much water as is necessary to make the dough come together.)  Form the dough into a ball with your hands, and place it on a spread-out piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper.  (I’ve used plastic wrap here because it doesn’t obscure the crust.)

STEP 4: With the palm of your hand, press the ball of dough into a flat disk.

STEP 5: Cover with a second piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper, and roll out from the center to form a circle about 11 inches in diameter.

STEP 6: Now it’s time to flip the crust into the (lightly-greased) pan.  Remove the top layer of plastic wrap/waxed paper.  Now, you can just carefully lift the dough (still on the plastic wrap) and just quickly flip it over onto the pan.  This is what I did because I blanked on the “right” way to do it.  The problem is, it might end up off-center, and because the dough is delicate, you can’t just slide it over.  (If this happens, your best bet is to leave it where it is, tear off the overhang, and press it into place on the other side to fill the gaps.)

The better option is to place the greased pan upside-down on top of the dough, centered, then quickly flip them together.  Gently press on the dough to push it down into the “corners” of the pan.

STEP 7 and following: Depending on the recipe you’re making, you may at this point need to bake and cool the crust, then fill it.  -OR- fill the crust with your filling, add a second crust to the top if desired, and bake as your recipe directs.  (This recipe makes a bottom crust only.  If you want a top crust, you will need to double the recipe.) 

The pie we made is an apple pie with filling using the recipe from How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, which we read for school last year.  It’s really supposed to have a top crust, but I only made one, which resulted in the pie’s getting a little dark.  About halfway through I wised up and covered the pie with foil.  Also, this is a “junky” recipe that uses white sugar; I haven’t gotten around to adapting it yet.  (Just didn’t want you to think the whole pie is paleo — or even healthy, really.  This is a nice easy recipe, though, that even the kids can make.)

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books)Pyrex Easy Grab 9.5