If you love flaky pastry and have missed classic French pastry since going gluten free, you will want to dive right into this gluten free pastry recipe. It makes incredible pastries!

A pastry filled with orange marmalade on a white plate.

Those three words don’t seem to go together at all. Flaky. Pastries. Gluten free. It seemed daunting and complex, and it was silly of me to assume this would be a hard baking project!

I assure you that making gluten free pastries is easy, and the results are worth all of the steps. These pastries are great for dessert or any time of day!

If you love French desserts, here are two more delicious gluten free recipes to make your mouth water: Fool-Proof Gluten Free Apple Cake and Gluten Free French Apple Cakes.

A gluten free pastry on a white plate. A piece was cut off with a fork.
Gluten Free Pastry with apricot jam filling.

Why we love this gluten free pastry recipe:

  1. You get mouthwatering flaky pastries that are gluten free.
  2. This recipe is for a gluten free rough pastry, which is a little easier than using a big block of butter.
  3. You can shape my pastry dough any way you like to make many delicious shapes with lots of filling options.
  4. Fill them with anything you want!
  5. You can freeze the dough and make the pastries later.

This is not a recipe for those in a hurry. Making this pastry dough has a lot of steps to get the flakiness into the dough. There are a lot of photographs of each step, so you can see in detail how to make this recipe.

Trust me, it is worth it…and if you LOVE this gluten free pastry recipe, wait until you try my Gluten Free Cheese Danish recipe!!

Reader Rave

This recipe is delicious. We used it for a lemon blueberry tart type thing and then used it this weekend as a pie crust for a mixed berry pie, and it was very good. I got sidetracked and overcooked the crust, so it got a little hard on me, but the taste was on point. I rolled them out on parchment paper, put an egg wash on top, topped them with cinnamon and sugar, and baked them to crispy, and that was also so good! Glad we stumbled upon your page because your recipes have been so good! Thanks for sharing all you do.” Naomi M.

Ingredients Notes:

  • Gluten Free Flour Blend – I have tested this recipe with Cup4Cup and King Arthur Measure for Measure. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I have not tried other flours.
  • Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
  • Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free! You can also read more about which baking powder is gluten free.
  • Butter – Use high-quality unsalted butter. It should be VERY cold.
  • Eggs – Use size large
  • Cold Water
A pastry cut in half so you can see the layers.
Look at all of the flaky layers!!

Tips For Sucess:

  • Freeze the butter. It makes things so much better when your butter is cold!
  • Use ice water without the ice cubes. Your mantra for this easy gluten free rough pastry recipe is cold. Cold butter is what makes those flaky layers!
  • Depending on the gluten free flour blend you use, you must really dust your surface and the top of the dough before rolling. I needed to do this more with the Cup4Cup than the King Arthur Measure for Measure. Every gluten free flour blend is different, so use flour as needed to prevent the dough from getting too sticky.
  • Refrigerate your dough between every step when you laminate your gluten free puff pastry dough!

How To Make Gluten Free Pastry:

Are you ready to see how to make this gluten free flaky pastry dough step by step? Grab a rolling pin; you will need it to laminate the pastry dough. This is what makes all of the buttery layers!

Photos of steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend.

To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon or leveling method.

Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.

You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.

Step 2: Chop the stick of butter into chunks. The colder the butter, the better, so try not to touch the butter with your fingers.

Photos of steps 3 and 4.

Step 3: Pour the cold water into the dry ingredients and add the cold butter chunks. Mix until your mixture forms a dough.

Step 4: Seeing the large butter chunks in the dough is okay.

Pastry dough wrapped in plastic.

Step 5: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Photos of steps 6 and 7.

Step 6: Now it is time to laminate your gluten free puff pastry dough. This process is how those big chunks of butter work into the dough in thinner pieces. This is the magic behind creating those flaky layers.

Place the dough onto a gf flour dusted surface. Roll to ¼ inch thickness.

Step 7: Fold one side of the dough up past the middle, as I show in the photo above, in what is called a two-letter fold. Then, fold the other end over the first fold. The key is to cover the butter and nestle the dough around it.

We are going to repeat this process a lot. Each layer breaks up the butter into thin bits mixed into the dough. Think of the thin areas of butter creating pockets of flaky layers.

Step 8: Fold the two-fold envelop folded dough in half again. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and repeat steps 6 and 7. Repeat the refrigeration. Repeat the roll, fold, and refrigerate 4 times.

Cutting the pastry dough.

Step 9: Dust the silicone mat or surface with flour and roll your pastry dough to ¼ inch thickness. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into rectangles.

Orange marmalade on a pastry, ready to fold.

Step 10: Cut the dough into the desired shape and add the filling. This one has orange marmalade. You can use any jam, fresh fruit, pie filling, or chocolate!

Filled pastries ready to bake.

Step 11: Roll or fold the dough over the filling. Here are two folds I did with my pastry. Next, brush each with an egg wash. Bake at 400º F for 15-20 minutes. The baking time will vary by the size of the pastries.

What To Do With Dough Scraps:

Dough strips coated with sugar and cinnamon.

Step 12: You will inevitably have dough left over. Usually, the scraps are from the rounded parts not used when cutting the dough. Roll the scraps and then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over this dough.

Cinnamon twists ready to bake.

Step 15: Cut the dough into strips and twist them. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your pastries. Remove from the oven and allow cooling.

Pastry Fillings Ideas:

  • Jam (I like jam better than jelly because jam has fruit pieces in it.) If you love jam in pastries, try my Gluten Free Kolache recipe!
  • Nutella
  • Chocolate chunks
  • Cream cheese

Optional….dust the gluten free pastries with powdered sugar.

Baked cinnamon twists on a baking sheet.

Recipe FAQ:

Can you make this pastry recipe dairy-free?

Unfortunately, the secret to the flaky pastry is the butter, so I do not think this recipe would work well dairy-free.

How do you store gluten free puff pastry dough?

These pastries will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.

Can you freeze the pastry dough to make it later?

Yes! After the lamination dough process, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then place that into a freezer bag. Thaw the dough and shape your pastries when you are ready to use the dough.

Where is the older version with yeast?

Feel free to contact me via my contact page, and I will send it to you. I decided although the older version of my recipe with active dry yeast is really good, gluten free dough only gets one good rise. Because this recipe needs a LOT of rolling and chilling, the yeast served no purpose.

An apricot jam filled pastry on a white plate.
This is an older photo of the pastries.

More Gluten Free Dessert Recipes:

Love This Recipe?

If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Include which flour blend you used. This helps others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!

A pastry filled with orange marmalade on a white plate.

Flaky Gluten Free Pastries

Sandi Gaertner
If you love flaky French pastry, you will want to dive right into this gluten free pastries recipe. You can fill gluten free pastry dough with jam, pastry cream, Nutella, or any filling you like.
4.74 from 41 votes
gluten free allergy icon
nut free allergen icon
soy free allergy icon
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Course Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes
Cuisine French
Servings 10 pastries
Calories 207 kcal

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • Rolling Pin
  • Cookie sheet

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cup gluten free flour blend * see note!
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
  • teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup cold water you may need more or less depending on the flour blend.
  • ½ cup unsalted butter COLD

Filling:

  • Filling (chocolate, jam, fruit, etc are all fun options.)
  • 1 egg for the egg wash

Instructions
 

  • Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend.
  • Chop the stick of butter into chunks. The colder the butter, the better, so try not to touch the butter with your fingers. I put my butter in the freezer an hour before making this recipe.
  • Pour the cold water into the dry ingredients and add the cold butter chunks. Mix until your mixture forms a dough.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
  • Now it is time to laminate your gluten free puff pastry dough. This a rolling and folding process that rolls the big chunks of butter into the dough in thinner pieces. 
  • Place the dough onto a gf flour dusted surface. Roll to ¼ inch thickness. Fold one side of the dough up past the middle, as I show in the photo above, in what is called a two-letter fold. Then fold the other end over the first fold. The key is to cover the butter and nestle the dough around it.
  • We are going to repeat this process a lot. Each layer breaks up the butter into thin bits mixed into the dough. Think of the thin areas of butter creating pockets of flaky layers.
  • Fold the two-fold envelope folded dough in half again. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Repeat the roll, fold, and refrigerate 4 times.
  • Dust the silicone mat or surface with flour and roll your pastry dough to ¼ inch thickness. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into rectangles. Preheat your oven to 400º F.
  • Cut the dough into the desired shape and add the filling. This one has orange marmalade. You can use any jam, fresh fruit, pie filling, or chocolate!
  • Roll or fold the dough over the filling, and then brush egg wash over the dough. Bake at 400º F for 15-20 minutes. The baking time will vary by the size of the pastries. 
  • Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Don't eat them hot because the filling can burn your mouth.

Notes

  1. I have tested this recipe with Cup4Cup. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours. Cup4Cup rose the best. Many gluten free flour blends do not work with yeast so read the back of the bag to ensure yours does.
  2. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
  3. These pastries will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pastryCalories: 207kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 38mgPotassium: 49mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 307IUCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @FearlessDining or tag #FearlessDining!

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

*This post was updated with more detailed recipe directions from my old 2/23/15 post. If you want the older version of my recipe using yeast, please reach out, and I can send it to you.

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124 Comments

  1. I would like to make a gf sfloglitelle and was wondering if this would be a recipe that would lend itself to adapt to the layers being rolled thin and rolled.

  2. Hi there, just making sure I didn’t misunderstand your Note #1 regarding the flour blend and yeast. Yeast is not used in this recipe right?
    Thanks! Hoping to try this soon.

    1. Hi Sherry, when I made this recipe originally, I used yeast, and it will definitely work out well…but I found it isn’t necessary. I changed it to keep it more simple for readers since the flavors turned out the same.

  3. 5 stars
    These are AWESOME! I have made them several times, it is my favorite
    dessert to make. (And breakfast item).

  4. Hi! I’m enjoying your posts adn wanting to start trying these pastries which look deliciously delectable! Just got confused about the yeast as this recipe does not include yeast but in the Notes section you mention yeast. How much yeast should we use? Also, am I interpreting the recipe correctly in that you added all the butter slices at once into the flour mix? I’m used to seeing the process of putting some slices in with each fold process instead of all at once. If you’re beautiful results happen without adding some butter with each fold, then I’m truly amazed! So, do we add the butter slices all at once in the beginning?

    1. Hi Renee, If you look in the FAQ, I talk about this. The recipe used to have yeast, but with all of the rolling, the yeast really don’t affect the recipe so I retested the recipe without yeast. It works just as well and this way those who can’t have yeast can enjoy this recipe.

  5. A G F member was recently added to our family. I often have the family for dinner and want to be sure the food is healthy for them. I have never cooked gluten free so I realy need help

    1. Hi Katy, If you go to the New, Start Here tab in my blog menu, many great articles that will help you. I also recommend my Facebook group, Gluten Free Living and Recipe Share to connect with others and get support.

  6. Hi Sandi, this looks amazing! One of the things I really miss the most having to be gluten free is serious yeasted flakey pastry like croissants etc. I was wondering if this dough could be frozen before shaping or baking, as back in my gluten days I use to be able to get frozen uncooked croissants and filled pastries that you could take out of the freezer, let thaw/rise for an hour or so, then bake fresh, and it was so nice to just have one or two pastries hot out of the oven for breakfast on a weekend. Either that or having the dough ready to make into whatever flavor/shape you want, without having to make the dough the same day. Have you tried anything like that before? Thanks a bunch!