A fellow #instafriend of ours asked us on social media month or so ago if our pie crust could be made without using the egg…well not being entirely sure how I would do it, I went ahead and said that I would find a way to make it happen!
It was easier than I thought it would be to find the “egg replacement” using the ground flax seed and water trick, but wasn’t sure how well it would work to keep the dough flexible or how well it would bake up.
It’s another Paleo pie crust miracle! The dough actually turned out so lovely and baked up well. We were even able to use the same egg replacement for the “egg wash” on the crust before we baked it, such a great warm golden color!
egg free paleo pie crust
The perfect cassava flour, egg-free, paleo pie crust EVER!!
Credit: backporchpaleo.com
Ingredients
- 1 T ground flax seed
- 3 T water
- 1 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
- 2 T arrowroot flour + additional for dusting
- ¼ t cinnamon (opt)
- ¼+ t Redmond Real Salt
- ½ c grass fed butter, let set at room temp for about 10 minutes, cut into about 1″ pieces
- ¼ c room temp water (this will vary)
- another small bowl with flax/water combo for “washing” before baking (opt)
Directions
- Add ground flax seed and water in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes and then stir well, set aside.
- Mix together, cassava flour, arrowroot, cinnamon (if using) and salt.
- Drop butter into bowl and using a pastry cutter, blend butter up into dry ingredients until all butter is incorporated and even and resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour whisked flax/water mixture into butter/flour mixture and work together with a wooden spoon until it again resembles a coarse kinda crumb mixture. Or if you need to, use your fingertips…sometimes this is just easier.
- Add water and using a wooden spoon, work into the crumb mixture…you should be able to touch it and not have dough stick to your fingers, so you can form it into a ball. If you need to dust your fingers with some additional arrowroot to make it easier to work with, keep the bag handy.
- Lay down one sheet of parchment paper and dust with some arrowroot powder, place your dough ball in the center and flatten slightly into a disc, then dust with more arrowroot flour. Place a second sheet of parchment on top and slowly begin to roll out the dough into a large circle.
⇒ For a cooked crust for a filled pie like lemon or fresh fruit, pre-heat oven to 425° ~ For filled crust, most likely pre-heat oven to 350-375° – refer to recipe you’re baking
– For Cooked Crust: Roll out thin, you’ll want a quick bake on it, so try to get it to around ¼” – pull back top sheet of parchment and dust with more arrowroot if needed and continue to roll. Once it’s the size you need for your pie plate, remove top sheet and place pie plate upside down on top. Carefully turn over and flip the crust on top of the pie plate, don’t worry if it tears a bit, this dough is very forgiving! Remove the parchment paper and press any tears together and finish the crust edge however you’d like. Using the tines of a fork, poke holes on the bottom and around the sides of the crust to allow for steam to release during baking. I like to sprinkle mine with a bit of cinnamon and coconut sugar, but this is optional. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and brush the flax/water wash around the edge of the crust. This will give it a nice brown finish, but is also optional. Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until brown.
– For Filled Crust: Roll out to just over ¼” or so – pull back top sheet of parchment and dust with more arrowroot flour if needed and continue to roll. Once it’s the size you need for your pie plate, remove top sheet and place pie plate upside down on top. Carefully turn over and flip the crust on top of the pie plate, don’t worry if it tears a bit, this dough is very forgiving! Remove the parchment paper and press any tears together and finish the crust edge however you’d like. Fill with whatever yumminess you’re using and bake. Depending on filling, you could bake from 45-60 minutes. After about 45 minutes, you may need to cover the edge of the pie crust to keep it from browning too much.
