Gluten-free shortcrust pastry
A reliable, flaky gluten-free shortcrust that rolls, bakes and blind-bakes beautifully — for sweet or savoury tarts.
Gluten-free shortcrust that behaves like the real thing — crisp edges, tender flakes and forgiving to roll if you follow the rules. It’s the sort of pastry you’ll trust for sweet fruit tarts and savoury quiches alike.
This recipe is built to be simple: a single flour blend, a little xanthan gum for structure, and a cold-butter technique. Chill properly and avoid overworking — that’s the secret to success with gluten-free pastry.
Ingredients
- 300 g gluten-free plain flour — use a blend for baking
- 5 ml xanthan gum — helps bind the dough
- 5 ml fine sea salt
- 150 g unsalted butter — cold, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1 medium egg
- 30 ml cold water — add only if dough is dry
- 25 g caster sugar — optional — for sweet pastry
Equipment
- rolling pin
- 23–24 cm tart tin
- baking beans or dried beans/peas
- clingfilm
- food processor (optional)
Instructions
Tip all the gluten-free plain flour, xanthan gum and fine sea salt into a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor. If you're making a sweet pastry add the caster sugar now.
Rub the cold unsalted butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Alternatively pulse briefly in a food processor — stop while pea-sized lumps remain.
Beat the medium egg and add it to the breadcrumb mix, bringing the dough together with a palette knife or your hands. Add the cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, only if the dough looks dry. The dough should just hold when pressed; avoid a sticky, wet dough.
Gather the dough gently and press into a 2–3 cm-thick disc. Wrap tightly in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 45 minutes to relax and firm up.
Lightly flour two sheets of baking paper with gluten-free plain flour. Place the chilled disc between them and roll to about 3 mm thick (for a 23–24 cm tart tin). If the pastry cracks, press the edges together gently — don’t rework.
Line your tart or pie tin with the pastry, ease it into the edges without stretching, and trim the excess. Prick the base lightly with a fork to stop large bubbles.
Chill the lined tin on a tray in the fridge for 15 minutes to set the fats and help prevent shrinkage.
Preheat oven to 180°C fan/200°C conventional. Line the pastry with baking paper and baking beans (or dried rice/peas) and blind-bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a further 8 minutes until the base looks dry and slightly golden.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before filling, or cool completely on a wire rack if the recipe requires. Use immediately or wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Tips
- If you have a food processor, pulse the butter into the dry ingredients — stop while pea-sized pieces remain to keep the pastry flaky.
- Roll between two sheets of baking paper to avoid adding extra flour; lift and turn the top paper regularly so it rolls evenly.
- If the dough cracks when rolling, press the cracks together gently rather than kneading — reworking warms the butter and toughens the pastry.
- To blind-bake for a wet filling (eg custard or fruit), bake the lined case 5–10 minutes longer after removing the weights to ensure the base is fully dry.
- Make ahead: you can freeze the shaped tart case (wrapped well) for up to 1 month; bake from frozen but add a few extra minutes to the blind-bake time.
Substitutions
unsalted butter → cold dairy-free block spread of the same quantity (150 g)
Noticeably differentmedium egg → 50 g aquafaba (chickpea brine) — may need a touch more xanthan gum
Noticeably differentgluten-free plain flour → a 1:1 gluten-free plain flour blend with xanthan gum already included (same weight)
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 280
- Calories
- 5 g
- Protein
- 29 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 150 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
My pastry cracks when I lift it into the tin — what went wrong?
Cracking usually means the dough was too dry or cold. Patch cracks gently with a little press, then chill again for 10–15 minutes. Roll between baking paper next time and add cold water sparingly until the dough just holds.
Can I make this dairy-free?
Yes — swap the unsalted butter for a firm, cold dairy-free block spread in the same quantity. Expect a slight difference in flavour and flakiness.
Do I need xanthan gum?
Xanthan gum gives structure and elasticity in gluten-free pastry. Use 1 tsp as written; if your flour blend already contains xanthan, you can omit the separate xanthan but reduce any extra by following the blend’s instructions.
How do I stop the base becoming soggy with a wet filling?
Blind-bake until the base is dry and slightly golden. For very wet fillings, bake the base an extra 5–10 minutes after removing the weights so the surface is well dried.
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