How To Make Gluten Free Pastry

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 puff pastry recipe. It makes incredible pastries!

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

I am here to assure you that making gluten free pastries is easy, and the results are absolutely 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.

Why Make This 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 all sorts of delicious shapes with lots of filling options.
4. Fill them with anything you like!
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!!

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 just have not tested 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

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 will need to really dust your surface and the top of the dough before rolling. I found 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!

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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:

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.

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.

Recipe FAQ:

*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.

More Gluten Free Dessert Recipes:

• These Gluten Free Cream Puffs are an incredible dessert!
• If you love cinnamon rolls, these Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls are so good.
• Melt in your mouth Gluten Free Vanilla Kipferl Cookies are very popular!
• Flaky Gluten Free Blueberry Scones are so easy!

📖 Recipe

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.

4.71 from 37 votes

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Chill Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 40 mins

Course Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

Cuisine French

Servings 10 pastries

Calories 207 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing bowls
• ▢
  Rolling Pin
• ▢
  Cookie sheet

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 ½ cup gluten free flour blend * see note!
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
• ▢ ⅛ 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

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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.

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