In which Claire begins a journey of discovery with gluten-free pastry crusts…

I had my first request! I’m so excited. I love a challenge! When I was little, I thought my cousin Becket was the coolest girl on the planet! I still do! Recently, she told me that her daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, and she wondered if I’d ever made a gluten-free-crust for a savory pastry. Well, I had not. Though I’d come close! The truth is that I’m fascinated by different kinds of flour – chickpea flour, semolina flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, buckwheat flour, barley flour – on and on it goes! And I have many of these in my cupboard at the moment. But, first of all…I wasn’t entirely aware that not all non-regular-flours are not gluten free. As it happens, semolina flour and barley flour, to name two, are not gluten free. (Or so I’ve been told). And second of all…I’d never tried using these flours all by themselves, I always mix them with some amount of “regular” wheat flour. I suppose just so I know what to expect – at least a little bit!

Becket’s question prompted me to take it to the next level. I was determined to make a pastry with a gluten-free crust. So here’s my first attempt. I used rice flour, and I tried, as a sort of control, to make it as close to ordinary pastry crust as I could in every other way. I was worried that it wouldn’t be workable. I was worried that it wouldn’t be crispy. Well…it was a little hard to work with. It was like feta cheese, in texture. Just imagine trying to roll feta cheese with a rolling pin and mold it into a pastry! But I worked that out. I had to be less daring with the shape of the pastry. And one thing that I discovered was that this dough works better when it’s not so cold. I had chilled it, as one would do with ordinary pastry. Not a good idea. I had to warm it up a bit and work it in my hands before I could cook with it at all. And then I found it best to use my hands to press it flat, and do that directly on the baking sheet, rather than trying to roll it out, fill it, and then move it. But once I’d let it warm up a bit, I took a small ball, put it on the baking sheet, flattened it to be about 1/4 inch thick, and then used a spatula and my hands to gather dough from all around, pull it over the filling, and seal it on top. I’d take a pinch of extra dough to fill the gaps. Then I turned it onto the seam side. It was actually fun once I got started. Like playing with play-doh. Then I brushed the tops with egg, because it was so pale I though it would be nice to see it get browned a bit.

And, guess what? It did turn out crispy! Very crispy on the outside! Quite nice! Not the prettiest shape I’ve ever made. My son said it looked like a dumpling, and I’m ok with that. I would gladly make this again! Once I got the hang of it, it was a pleasure to make, and to eat!

You could fill this with anything you like, but I filled it with roasted chickpeas that I’d cooked in some approximation of a zatar spice. This is a middle-eastern spice mix that seems to always contain thyme and sesame seeds, but…beyond that, is pretty open to interpretation. I added oregano and caraway seeds, which I’d learned was a typically Palestinian addition. Lovely!

This doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, but it’s so stuck in my head right now! I love it to pieces. It’s Sir Lord Comic with Wh’appen?

CRUST
2 cups rice flour
1 stick unsalted chilled butter
1 t. salt
ground black pepper
water

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Grate in the butter. Mix till you have fine crumbs. Add the water, starting with 1/2 cup, till you have a workable dough. Knead it for a few minutes. Set it aside at room temperature till you’re ready to use it. At least half an hour, I’d say.

FILLING

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
1 t thyme
1 t. oregano
2 t sesame seeds (I used black)
1/2 t. caraway seeds, crushed.

1 or T olive oil

In a small bowl, mix all of these together. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 425 (preheated) for about 20 minutes till the chickpeas are dry and starting to brown.

1/2 head of broccoli, florets only, chopped into small pieces. Steamed till just soft and bright green, and then well-drained.

1 cup grated sharp cheddar.
1 egg beaten

In a bowl combine the chickpeas, broccoli, cheese and all but 1 T of the egg. Mix well.

TO ASSEMBLE

Take a piece of dough about the size of an egg. Place it on a lightly buttered baking sheet, and press it into a circle. You can use a small glass to help roll it out. It should be about 1/4 inch in the end. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Using a spatula or a sharp knife, and your fingers, pull the dough up around the filling. If you have a space in the middle, press a disc of extra dough over it. Turn the whole thing over to rest on the seam side. Brush the top with egg, and poke it with a fork in two places.

Repeat about 6 times, till all the filling is used up.

Bake at 425 for about half an hour, till it’s starting to get light golden brown on top, and feels crispy.

Let it cool and set for a few minutes before you cut into it.