This recipe for Gluten Free & Dairy Free Shortcrust Pastry can be made sweet or savoury, is made without xanthan gum and can be made vegan too. Once you make it you’ll wonder why you were ever scared of making pastry and I guarantee you’ll never buy it again!
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Making a great gluten free shortcrust pastry is much easier than you might imagine.
My recipe does not use any unusual ingredients or strange techniques. This free from pastry recipe is also not dry or crumbly like many gluten free options are. I can tell you the secret to perfect gluten free pastry right now…
And it’s…Egg!
Rather than using water to bind the ingredients together as in traditional shortcrust pastry you need an egg for gluten free pastry.
Once you’ve combined the ingredients you may need to add a little flour or water (depending upon the flour blend and fat you use) to get a firm dough.
Don’t worry if you can’t eat egg either, I have a nifty vegan option which works just as well!
Making Vegan Shortcrust Pastry
Instead of using an egg to bind the ingredients together use a flax egg.
A flax egg is made by combining 1 tbsp ground flax seeds (or linseeds) with 3 tbsp water. After the ingredients have been mixed together they need to be left for around 5 minutes to thicken.
You then have a flax egg that you can use in this recipe to replace the egg, making it suitable for vegans.
If you do use a flax egg rather than a ‘real’ egg then the pastry will be more tricky to work with. I suggest pressing the dough into the dish you want to use rather than rolling out and trying to move it.
What Flour to Use for Gluten Free Shortcrust Pastry
You can make this pastry using Doves Farm plain flour. However, I highly recommend using my wholegrain, rice free, gluten free flour blend instead.
That’s because rather than being a white, refined flour blend it is a blend of 70% wholegrain flours. The flours I chose have nutritional benefits and are a source of protein and fibre thereby helping to keep you full for longer.
In fact many of the flours that I chose to include in my flour blend are a source of resistant starch. If you’re not sure why that’s a good thing for your general health, check out this article.
And taking a step back, if you’ve no idea what a gluten free flour blend is and why they’re important for successful baking then read ‘What On Earth Is a Gluten Free Flour Blend‘. It will help you never have a gluten free baking disaster again.
For More Help with Gluten or Dairy Free Pastry Recipes:
How to Use Gluten Free Shortcrust Pastry
This recipe makes enough pastry for 1 big tart plus 12 small tarts if rolled thinly.
Like any shortcrust pastry, you can use this gluten free version in any recipe calling for shortcrust pastry. Here are some of my favourites!
Or how about trying a recipe from fellow blogger Rebecca, over at Glutarama. She used my flour to make a delicious looking gluten free and dairy free apple pie.
Gluten & Dairy Free Pastry Tips
- Make sure you flour your work surface well before rolling the dough out.
- If you’re making a large tart, line the tin with the pastry, then chill again in the fridge for 20 minutes before baking blind for approx. 10 – 15 minutes at 180 degrees or 160 degree fan.
Save Gluten Free & Dairy Free Shortcrust Pastry for Later
How to Make Gluten & Dairy Free Pastry Video Tutorial
In my video below I show you just how easy this pastry is to make.
I created the video years ago, well before I’d developed my own flour blend so don’t laugh. It at least shows you how easy it is.
The Recipe in Full
Gluten Free & Dairy Free Shortcrust Pastry
Ingredients
- 200 g Free From Fairy plain gluten-free flour
- 50 g Trex - solid margarine
- 50 g dairy-free margarine - or 100g butter if not dairy free
- 1 egg - or 1 flax egg for the vegan option
Optional for Sweet Pastry
- 50 g white sugar
Instructions
- Place the flour and margarines into a large bowl and, using a knife or fork, mash the fats into the flour until you have fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar and mix through if using.
- Add the egg to the mix and bring together to form a dough. If you need to, add a tiny bit of cold water or additional flour to bring it together into a dough. The flour blend you use along with the fat you use will affect this.
- Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes before using.
Ann Donnelly says
Sounds like fabulous receipes Vicki, my daughter is vegan so I want to bake & cook more nutritious & delicious bakes/food for her & possibly convert to vegan & gluten free cooking/ baking❤️
Vicki Montague says
What a wonderful mum! Give me a shout if you need help with anything 🙂
Chris says
Hi, for an Apple pie, shall I just double the amount of pastry?
Vicki Montague says
Yes if you want a top you’ll need double the amount.
Paulette says
Hi, I’ve made the short crust pastry but found it to fall to bit when trying to transfer to my dish 🙁 any tips?
Very short and tasted lovely once cooked 🙂 easy recipe to follow.
Vicki Montague says
Hi Paulette, sorry to hear that. I roll it over my rolling pin and then gently place it in the dish I’m using. Hopefully that helps?
Mandeep says
I made this recipe using the egg free option but used butter. The dough was easy to handle and I was able to roll it out to make individual pasties. It held well when baked and the pastry was really tasty too. A lot nicer than shop bought ones. I will try this again with dairy free margarine and trex (I’ve never used this before) and hope it will be just as good. So thank you so much Vicki for this recipe and your flour mix.
Vicki Montague says
You’re very welcome 🙂
Kay says
Confused. This recipe claims to be dairy free yet in the contents you include butter with the comment not dairy free!!!
Vicki Montague says
I’m not sure what you mean? The recipe states the dairy free options and says it can also be made with butter?!
Stephen D Adams says
AH! some-one who sounds sane in the Coeliac world. I have already changed from marg/butter when making GF sponges using Vitalite. Would that be O.K when using your dairy-free pastry mix? However, I will use your recipe.
Vicki Montague says
Hi Stephen, Vitalite is marg. It will work in making dairy free pastry but it may be rather soft and hard to transfer to your dish. I therefore suggest pressing the pastry into the dish/es you want to use. I use hard margarine because it produces a more robust pastry. Let me know how you get on!
James says
Just made 4 mammoth meat and potato pies with this recipe leaving out the sugar.
Had to try a bit of the pastry before it gets portioned up and goes in the freezer. Just managed to get my fingers out of the way before my missus brought the meat cleaver down on them.
Happy days, tastes really good and i’ll be making some apple pies with this recipe and including the sugar when I do, thanks for this, I’m well happy.
Vicki Montague says
Oh James. This made me smile a LOT! Thank you so much for leaving such a joyful comment. Enjoy your pies!
Karen Griffith says
Hi, if I was to use hard coconut oil instead of Trex would I need to reduce the amounts or substitute it as it is?
Vicki Montague says
Hi Karen, I haven’t used coconut oil and I’m not sure it would work although I’d love to know if you tried it and it did. I would keep the quantities the same. Good luck!
Kelly Dean says
Can this recipe be frozen?
Vicki Montague says
Hi there Kelly! Yes it can be frozen. Just defrost completely and then rework it. It may be crumbly to start with but it will come back together again as it warms up.
Kim Davison says
I tried this recipe for the first time at Christmas for mince pies. It’s very easy and makes lovely pastry.
Vicki Montague says
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Denyse Buncall says
Can I just use dairy free spread instead of solid margarine
Vicki Montague says
Hi Denyse, in my experience, no…it is too soft so if you are dairy-free I suggest you use the hard margarine. If not then use butter…
Wendy says
Can I use this dough for biscuits?
Vicki Montague says
Hi Wendy, you could use this for biscuits if you like biscuits made from pastry. Sprinkled with sugar they would be pretty nice…
Rachael says
This recipe was excellent, thank you! I think the key is just to keep everything chilled while you are working the dough.
Vicki Montague says
Hi Rachael, glad you liked the recipe. I find that gluten-free pastry is more forgiving than ‘normal’ and I don’t worry too much about things.
Rebecca Smith says
Going to give this a go, thinking apple pie?
Vicki Montague says
Can’t beat a good apple pie this time of year. Especially with a load of cinnamon!
Christine says
Looking forward to making this. Thanks
Vicki Montague says
I’m looking forward to seeing what you bake!