I realised I'd made a mistake in measuring the fats by cup in the first post of this recipe. When I made the pastry again, I pushed the fats down well into the cup and found that they measured ⅓ cup each, not ½ as I had originally posted. In any case, I think it's easier to weigh them.

Here's the revised recipe with a few more instructions.

Gluten free pastry

Ingredients
75g/3oz (½ cup) brown rice flour
75g/3oz (½ cup) ground almonds (or use other ground nuts or sunflower seeds?)
75g/3oz (½ cup) tapioca flour
1 heaped tsp xanthan gum
pinch of salt
Zest of 1 orange (for sweet pastry - optional)
75g/3oz (⅓ cup) ghee
75g/3oz (⅓ cup) coconut butter/oil
1 egg mixed with two tablespoons cold water (or use flax gel?)
If making a sweet pastry, add 2 tsp FOS/Stevia mix with the flours

Method
Stage 1 – Weigh/measure and chill the fats
Weigh/measure the ghee and coconut butter/oil and place in a dish in the fridge to chill. When chilled, cut into cubes/small pieces.

Stage 2 – Make the pastry
1. Sift the rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum and salt into a bowl. Add the ground almonds and orange zest (if using) and mix well. Add the cut up ghee and coconut butter/oil and gently rub into the flour mixture as with ordinary pastry, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and carefully add a very small amount of the egg and water mixture - just enough to bring the pastry together using a fork. Collect the pastry into a ball with your hands. This way you can judge more accurately whether you need a few more drops of liquid. It is tempting to add extra liquid at this stage but try not to, as it is very easy to make the pastry too wet. It is fine to have some liquid left over - keep it, you will need it later. Although rather damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape in the oven.
2. Sprinkle over a little rice flour if necessary and gently knead the dough in the bowl with the heel of your hand for a few minutes to form a silky- smooth ball. Flatten slightly, wrap in cling film, or a plastic bag or place in a container with a lid and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or longer. This will make the pastry much less elastic and easier to roll.

Stage 3 – Roll out the pastry
Remove the pastry from the fridge. It is likely to feel hard and inflexible and you can’t roll it out like that. Crumble the pastry into a bowl and add a little of the remaining beaten egg/water mixture. Remould with your hands into a soft ball. Roll out the pastry on a rice floured worksurface. You will not be able to pick up a substantial piece over the rolling pin, as with normal pastry. Instead, pick up pieces of the pastry as best you can. The pastry will be greasy and pliable so it will be easy to push and mould them into whatever tin you are using, adding extra pieces to cover up any holes.

Notes on handling the pastry
If the pastry starts to crack with (repeated) rolling, follow the instructions in Stage 3 above. If you find it difficult to get the pastry off the work surface, use a fish slice to pick it up.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Linda,

I just want to encourage folks to use organic citrus fruit, particularly when eating the zest of them.

Cheers,

TLC