Gluten Free Pastry Recipes to Wow Your Friends This Winter

Pastry is a glorious thing. From pies to sausage rolls and quiche, one of the things that people think they will miss the most when they move to a gluten free diet is pastry, because they believe it is so hard to replicate. Luckily, for you, we’ve done some research and found some of the best gluten free recipes for pastry from various websites so that you can invite your friends round whether they are gluten free or not and wow them with your pastry skills!

Gluten free shortcrust pastry

The first gluten free pastry recipe is from BBC Good Food and provides you with a basic, gluten free shortcrust pastry that can be used to make pies, sausage rolls, quiche and other pastry-based dishes. It should only take around 20 minutes to prepare and around 30 minutes to cook, with this combined time excluding chilling time. This is a great staple to have in your back pocket and provides you with the versatility to bake and cook a wide range of dishes.

Ingredients for a 1 x 23cm tart base that can be filled with savoury or sweet ingredients as a tart or pie:

• 125g unsalted butter, cubed and cold
• 250g gluten free plain flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• Yolk of 1 large egg

Method:

• Rub the butter and flour together with your fingers, in a large bowl, until it becomes the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. At this point, stir in the xanthan gum and add a large pinch of salt. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine a tablespoon of cold water and the egg yolk. Add this mixture to the bowl with the flour and stir together using a knife until it comes together. Feel free to add cold water if the texture remains crumbly. Bring the mixture together into the shape of a disc by using your hands and wrap in cling film. Place the dough into a fridge and leave to chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Remove from the fridge and roll the dough out between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Remove the top sheet and flip into a tin, leaving the other sheet of greaseproof paper on the top. Press down the pastry into the base and the sides of the tin, patching up any holes that appear with any leftover pastry. Trim around the sides to make it look nice and tidy and then it goes back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
• Heat up the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Scrunch up some greaseproof paper and carefully press it into the pastry, adding baking beans to keep the weight on the pastry. Place onto a baking tray and blind bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges of the pastry are turning golden. Remove the greaseproof paper and the beans and then bake for another 5-10 minutes until the base is dry. Cool on a wire rack and fill with whatever you wish.

Gluten free quiche

This creamy gluten free quiche is packed full of goodness, and you can use the above recipe as the basis for the pastry that forms a crucial part of the whole recipe or follow the specific recipe below for some variation. Preparation time is between 30 minutes and an hour, with a similar time to cook. 

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 250g gluten free plain flour
• 125g chilled, diced unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
• 4-5 teaspoons of ice-cold water
• 1 teaspoon of white wine or cider vinegar

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 thinly sliced onion
• 1 thinly sliced leek
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 200g smoked bacon or lardons
• 4 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 375ml double cream
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 75g grated cheddar
• 100g frozen peas (defrosted)

Method:

• Follow the above recipe for making the pastry itself.
• For the filling, heat the oil in a pan over low to medium heat, adding the leek and onion and stirring until softened and beginning to caramelise. Set aside on a side plate and add the bacon or lardons to the same pan, increasing the heat and cooking until beginning to crisp.
• Take the whole eggs, yolk and cream and whisk together before adding the chives and seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Scatter the onion, leek, bacon, peas and grated cheddar into the pastry case and pour the egg mixture over the top.
• Cook this for 25 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Sausage rolls

This gluten free sausage roll recipe from Tesco gives you a crispy, umami sausage roll that is perfect for an indoor winter picnic with friends and is enough to make 12 small or 6 large sausage rolls.

Ingredients:

• 220g gluten free plain flour
• 200g unsalted, cold butter
• 1 x pack of 8 frozen ‘Free From pork sausages
• 1 lightly beaten egg

Method:

• Again, follow the above first recipe to make the gluten free pastry dough.
• The difference is you will knead the pastry on a lightly dusted work surface with flour, rolling out until it is about 3x its original size and about 5mm thick, in a rectangle shape.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 before removing the skins of the sausages and mixing together the meat in a bowl.
• Cut the pastry down the length into 2 equal strips. With half the sausage meat, roll into a sausage shape that is a similar length as the pastry, placing it down the middle of the pastry.
• Brush the beaten egg down one side of the pastry and fold the other side over the meat and then the side. Ensure the roll is compact and straight, repeating the process with the rest of the sausage meat to make 2 long sausage rolls that can be cut into either 6 or 12 smaller versions. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and serve either warm or at room temperature.

If you want to know how to make a basic shortcrust pastry that is gluten free, or how to make a delicious sausage roll that is free from gluten, there are some basic recipes here that you can follow and wow your friends this winter. Alongside finding gluten free ingredients at the supermarket, you might also qualify for a gluten free prescription, so always check with your GP after a coeliac diagnosis. With a gluten free prescription you’ll gain access to gluten free flour mixes that can be used to make pastry, alongside a range of gluten free pastry recipes for shortcrust, puff, and hot water crust. We hope you enjoy these three simple, gluten free recipes for pastry.