I'll admit it - I'm a lover of pastry, I think a really good pastry enhances any dish. I'm happy to say that this pastry is unbelievably good.  

This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour.

 

Ingredients

Pastry

250 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

15 g Caster sugar

~1/8 tsp Salt

150 g Butter (melted)

100 - 150 g Butter (cold)

1 Egg

50 g Hot water

 

extra Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

 

Method

 Mix together the Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour, sugar & salt.

In another container melt 150 g of the butter.

Add the water & egg to the melted butter. Stir to combine. Don't let this mixture cool.

Pour the melted butter mix over the combined dry ingredients & stir to combine.

It can be mixed by hand, fork or wooden spoon. Mechanical devices can over mix the dough very easily, it is best done by hand.

At this stage the dough will feel slightly greasy. Wrap the dough in plastic clingwrap or put it in a plastic bag & store in the fridge/freezer for approximately 1 hour. The dough can be frozen at this stage.    

Cooling the dough is important - after cooling the butter is fully absorbed, flexibility is increased & the dough is easier to handle.

Bring the dough out of the fridge, it will be quite hard. Optional - Put the dough into a food processor to break up the dough. Process until the dough is approximately the size of tapioca pearls. 

Lightly dust a clean work surface (silicon mat, baking paper) with some of the extra Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour. 

Grate 100 g of butter over the dough. 

Lightly dust a clean work surface (silicon mat, baking paper) with some of the extra Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour. 

Knead the dough, incorporating the butter, until it is soft enough to roll out. If it is too sticky, wrap the dough & put it in the freezer for approximately 15 mins.

Roll out the pastry to approximately 4 mm thick. 

Grate the remaining butter (50 g) over the top of the dough (picture below is more than 50 g). 

Roll the dough up. 

Lightly dust a clean work surface (silicon mat, baking paper) with some of the extra Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour. 

Roll out the dough to approximately 30 cm in length. Fold the sides of the dough into the middle. Essentially you are making 'single turns' like that of Yeasted Flaky Pastry. 

Repeat the rolling out & folding up. Doing this ensures a deliciously short flaky pastry. If the butter is exposed & sticking to the mat, fold the dough over & roll out again. 

Roll out the dough to the correct size for the pan (approximately 2- 3 mm thick). To ensure the dough is an even thickness follow this tip. Find 2 placemats (dinner setting - my placemats are ~4 mm thick) or two pieces of cardboard (2-3 mm thick) place one on either side of the dough. I use metal spacers 1 mm, 2 mm & 3 mm thick. When rolling out the dough ensure the rolling pin is wide enough to span the dough and part of the top of the placemats/cardboard. My rolling pin is large – 61 cm from handle to handle. Initially when rolling the pin may not necessarily rest on the placemats/cardboard, however, when the dough is the same thickness as the placemats/cardboard it will. At this stage the dough should be all the same thickness.

I roll the dough out to 2 mm thickness for small tarts and 2 or 3 mm for larger tarts.  

Bake the dough at 170 C to 210 C. The actual temperature will depend on what you are making and the size of the tart/flan/pastry cases. 

 

       

Gently push the dough into all corners & sides of the pan. If the dough breaks don't worry it is easy to patch. Trim the dough to slightly higher than the sides of the pan. 

Sometimes the dough needs to be baked beforehand. Blind bake the dough for approximately 10 - 15 mins at 170 C. For larger flan pans I use the base of a springform pan - it works quite well. The actual baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the pastry & your oven.