I make - Gluten-Free Pie Crust

I finally made a pastry crust which is flaky and does not go crumbly all over the place. I used the common 2 parts of flour with 1 part of butter crust ratio. The keys, I found, are very cold dough and xanthan gum. The amount of water required to bring the dough together varies greatly on the day of moisture and the flour blend. If you practice a few times, you will get a better feel of the dough.

This is the crust I use for both savory and sweet pies. I don't add more sugar to the crust if it's intended for sweet use. The filling is usually sweet enough so I like a rather neutral base to go with it. But it's your crust and make it yours.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

220 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)

1 tbsp dairy/vegan protein powder (optional but super helpful preventing breakage)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
100 g cold butter, chunks
1 egg, beaten
Enough cold water to bring the dough together (1~2 tablespoons)

In a large bowl, combine flour, protein powder (if using), xanthan gum, salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Cut the butter into flour until they look like bread crumbs. I used a curved silicon bench scraper for this.

Pour the beaten egg into the flour-butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to form a dough. 

If you find dry flour crumbs at the bottom of the mixing bowl, drizzle in one tablespoon of the water. Use a gloved hand to squeeze the dough together to incorporate the liquid. Squeeze the dough as you go along to work out a cohesive mass. Add more water as required.

When you have a clean bowl and the dough should be relatively non sticky (dust lightly with flour if needed), wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the fridge for a couple of hours. I find proper resting in cold is essential for a dough of good quality and easy manipulation.

Preheat the oven at 180C. 

When the pastry has its proper nap, remove it from the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of cling film. Cling film makes gluten-free pastry work a lot easier. This recipe is enough for a 25-cm pie dish or a 23-cm pie mold with scrapes.

Line the top of the crust with a large piece of baking paper and cover the ceramic baking beads. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes. Remove the the baking paper and the beads and bake again for further 5 minutes. Your pastry is then ready to be filled.

Note: I've been experimenting with Phil Vickery's mix lately. The first time I used 25% white rice + 25% brown rice + 30% cornmeal + 20% potato starch and the second time with 25% sweet rice + 25% brown rice + 30% cornmeal + 20% cornstarch. There is no grittiness in the baked crust in the second time. And there is a feel of lightness in the second recipe. Is it cornstarch or sweet rice or longer rest in the fridge, I don't know but I shall be using this maize mix more in the future.