The Great Gluten-Free Pie Experiment, Part Two

We are one of those families that are trying to become gluten-free.  Or, to be more precise, I am one of those mothers who are trying to make their family gluten-free. 

  

Thankfully, we are not dealing with the serious implications of Celiac Disease, but I have been largely off wheat for over a year.  I now follow the Body Ecology Diet as closely as possible, which advocates healthy, whole grains such as millet and quinoa.

  

Still, I have not yet found a millet or quinoa pie crust recipe.  With the holidays here, I need to either come up with something that will pass the family taste test, or give in again.

   

The Great Gluten-Free Pie Experiment, Part One

  

It should be noted that I tried to produce gluten-free pies last Thanksgiving, but none of my attempts received the stamp of approval from my sons.  We tried multiple recipes with a variety of ingredients, but to be honest, they really didn’t taste very good. 

     

The boys got pretty good at scraping the filling out of inedible pie shells.  They actually enjoyed my sugar-free pumpkin pie filling, but suggested it would be better served as a pudding.  Oh well.

  

This year, I am much more optimistic.  Why?

   

I have discovered Pamela’s gluten-free baking products.

  

Pamela’s Baking Mix has become a staple in our pantry.  I serve pancakes made from the mix to everyone in the family.  They don’t even suspect how healthy they are.

   

I’ve also used the baking mix to adapt a favorite apple coffee cake recipe.  I plan to use it for Christmas cookies this year – watch for my Baking Report here next month.

  

My mother, who is also trying to go gluten-free, investigated their website and found a variety of pie crust recipes.  Truth be told, I am a bit of a lazy baker, so I picked the easiest one.

          

Using Pamela’s Bread Mix and raw, cultured butter, I’ve produced what I consider to be a very respectable apple pie.  I selected the apple pie recipe on the Pamela’s site, substituting Body Ecology’s Lakanto for the sugar. 

    

My older son and I both enjoyed it.

    

My younger son is still scraping out the filling. 

    

(I’m beginning to suspect he doesn’t actually like pie crust.  He will be secretly observed at Thanksgiving, to see what happens when he eats one of my sisters’ traditional pies.  If there is any scraping, we will know not to use him for future testing.)

  

That’s all for now.  Check back next week for the official post-Thanksgiving Pie Report.  Best of luck with your own baking and Happy Thanksgiving!!