Thursday, November 20, 2008

The Perfect Pie Crust

Sorghum and Vanilla Potato Vodka

I must admit that usually I like to write something nice and long... and maybe add a few photos... definitely quoting a bunch of science abstracts.

Today, however, I defer to The Smitten Kitchen (link below). Though not necessarily gluten free, this article brings a great deal of good advice to the table.

One of the pie crust tips I will definitely be using is the vodka tip.

Every year, I buy a fair-sized bottle of potato vodka and drop a few vanilla beans in it. This is my own version of 'vanilla extract' for baking days. It is this vanilla flavoured vodka that I will be using to make my pie crusts this Christmas.

For the flour, I must admit to getting tired of using rice flour. My daughter has decided that she doesn't like the flavour of quinoa... and so I will defer to a mix of sorghum, amaranth and arrowroot.

Also, I'll defer to lard for my crust and save any of our dairy splurges for the fillings... like in a pecan pie, for instance.

2 cups sorghum
1/4 cup amaranth
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons powdered demerara sugar (yes I buy full sugar and powder it myself with a coffee grinder)
(I'd use date sugar instead if I could get my hands on some.)
3/4 cup cold organic lard
1/4 cup cold vanilla potato vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Mix dry stuff all together.
Add half of the dry mix to the lard.
Cut the lard into half the dry mix.
Add the rest of the dry mix and continue cutting the lard.
After the mix is very well crumbled, shape into two balls and refrigerate until firm.
Roll between rolls of plastic and place into pie dish.
Sandwich this dough between two pie dishes (must be clear or light - not dark dishes).
Place pie dishes upside down in oven and bake at 200 F until done (check every 10 minutes).


I'll try for the photos later today... if I can find my camera.


References:
Smitten Kitchen - Pie Crust 101
Sorghum
Fermented Sorghum: gluten free bread
Is Sorghum Safe for Celiacs?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This recipe looks great! I am excited to try it out. I have been posting recipes at http://www.innatehealthfoundation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Recipes, which is a great wiki-based resource for the food allergy/intolerance community. You should check it out! I am curious to try out the vanilla potato vodka trick - do you notice a big difference in the flavor? Thanks for sharing!

Kim Gray said...

Thank you... and thanks for the reference. :)

The longer the vanilla beans are left in, the stronger it gets.

For those with alcohol intolerance, you can put vanilla beans in a jar of sugar. I'm trying to think what you could use if you don't use either alcohol or sugar... I suppose the easiest answer would be to use the pure vanilla bean.