Gluten Free Blueberry Pie (gf, dairy free, soy free)

i decided to experiment with a favorite of ours... blueberry pie. i love The New Best Recipe cookbook and have made their pie before, so i just decided to try it with another crust and to use agave instead of sugar...

so for a crust i used bette hagman's vinegar pie crust recipe and decided to experiment with coconut oil instead of butter. i'm still on the fence in terms of the results, but i'll post it anyways. my coconut oil goes between solid and liquid state often, so i decided to put it into the fridge to become the consistency of softened butter or shortening, so at least that went well. the finished result had a slight coconut flavor that was a little surprising, but i think i would still use it again... just less. or maybe a combo with another oil or something. i'm just not into the processed oils so i'm kind of out of luck... willing to take suggestions if anyone else has found something that worked! all in all though, it was a great crust, nice and flaky with a good consistency.

*update: You can also use my Apple Pie Crust which I love!




Blueberry Pie

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Sugar Free

Pie Crust:

1 cup white rice flour
¾ cup tapioca flour
¾ cup cornstarch
1 rounded tsp. xanthan gum
¾ tsp. salt
1 tbsp agave nectar or honey
¾ cup Organic Coconut Oil or Spectrum Naturals Organic All Vegetable Shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. ice water

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cornstarch, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar. Blend in the coconut oil.

Blend together the beaten egg, vinegar, and cold water. Stir into the flour mixture until the pastry holds together and forms a ball. I found it needed a good amount of kneading in order to make it a good consistency for rolling.

Form two balls and place in a bowl; cover and refrigerate for ten minutes or so until cool if it has gotten too sticky. If you refrigerate it too long it becomes really hard.

Remove and roll one ball at a time between two sheets of plastic wrap that have been dusted with sweet rice flour.

To place in pie tin: Remove top sheet, and using the other for ease of handling, invert the dough and gently place it in the pan. Shape into curves before removing the second piece of plastic wrap.


Blueberry Pie Filling:
6 cups fresh blueberries (i used mostly fresh, but added some frozen as well)
3/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar, honey, or maple syrup
2 tsp juice and 1 tsp grated zest from lemon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp tapioca or arrowroot starch
1 egg white, lightly beaten (for top of crust)

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. Toss the berries, agave, lemon juice, zest, spices, and potato starch and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Spoon berries into pie shell (first dough is already in there)
4. Place second dough over filling and trip edges. Tuck rim of dough underneath itself so that the edge is flush with the pan. Press with tines of a fork or flute the edge
5. Cut four slits in the dough tops
6. Brush top of crust with egg white
7. Lower temperature of the oven to 425 degrees
8. Bake until the top crust is golden, about 25 minutes
9. Rotate the pie and reduce temperature to 375 degrees
10. Continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, around 30-35 minutes longer.
11. Transfer to wire rack and let cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.




This is being entered into the Friday Foodie Fix at The Whole Gang