My crumbly gluten free pastry solution.

[bessieval]

Xanthan Gum, you can get a tube for a couple of pound and the difference has been night and day.
Saw a video on youtube and it worked a charm.

[slipperywhensparticus]

Use the gluten free read flour it contains it anyway

I use an egg in mine

[moreismore]

Love xantham gum! Put a pinch in with oil and vinegar dressings as well to help them mix.

[hoteltango]

That's timely advice. I'm just getting into gluten-free food and had been looking online today for pastry recipes but wasn't sure about xanthan gum (mostly because I hadn't heard of it before).

Where do you buy xanthan gum?

[slipperywhensparticus]

Seen it in tescos holland and barrett sainsbury's etc

[Blondie1984]

@hoteltango is there a specific reason why you're getting into gluten free food?

[hoteltango]

Thanks, slipperywhensparticus - couldn’t see it on Sainsburys online, but there’s a Holland & Barrett in town so I’ll try there.

Blondie1984 - I started getting quite severe heartburn/acid reflux a few months ago. I read on here somewhere that gluten intolerance could be a possible cause, so I’ve mostly ditched wheat-based products. That seems to have worked, or it could just be a coincidence.

I’ve made these biscuits, which are delicious: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2012/crisp-orange-shortbread.

I’ve also made this cake, which is lovely but a bit crumbly: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1658634/glutenfree-carrot-cake, so I’ll try adding some xanthan gum to that next time.

[Coffeeandchocolate9]

If it's savoury pastry you are making, I had THE BEST cornish pasties recently and their makers had added grated cheese to the pastry - it worked really well!

[slipperywhensparticus]

Glute free flour needs more liquid than regular when making a cake I sub one duck egg for one of the chicken eggs its richer slightly bigger and holds it together better

[Passionaria]

GF flour does not absorb liquids as easily as wheat flour; it can also be reluctant to blend with butter. Adding more butter will lead to a greasy texture and oil slicks in the oven, not desirable.

The coeliac members of my family like the recipe for pastry for rugelach from this book www.amazon.co.uk/How-Gluten-Free-Cookbook-Ground-Breaking/dp/1936493985/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how%20can%20it%20be%20gluten%20free%20book%20two&qid=1568959124&sr=8-1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 which calls for Philadelphia cheese to be added to the pastry.

Its difficult to roll out, but you can roll or pat out smallish pieces of it and pat them together in a pie dish for blind baking. It's delicious pastry (the rugelach are good too) and does not taste GF.

Soured cream is useful along with Philadelphia in GF baked goods to help give a softer texture. Some mixtures need to rest for 15 to 30 minutes to let the flour and liquid get acquainted before finishing the bake.

Their lemon Madeira type cake (book one I think) is also delicious, although it needs to sit overnight after baking to give the correct texture.

[pastabest]

12oz gluten free plain flour
3oz marg NOT BUTTER
3oz Lard/Trex
1 egg
80mls cold water
add sugar for sweet pastry.

Rub flour and fats together then add egg and water. Knead the dough like bread then wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 mins

That recipe pretty much tastes and acts like normal pastry.

[TheSandgroper]

Roll out between two pieces of silicone paper. Soy is a natural emulsifier so a bit of that in your flour blend is good. Add less fat and liquid. It’s easier to add more liquid than add more flour when correcting.