Flaky No-Fail Keto Pie Pastry is so special to me as I have a sorted history with pie. So I feel this recipe restores my honour among the pies. Let me explain. At the age of 12, or maybe I was younger, perhaps I was 10, or 8, I really can’t remember. However, the point here is that I, as the smaller, mini version of myself, one Nikkey Elizabeth, got it in my head, that I was going to make a blueberry pie.
Truly, the eureka moment for me to make this said pie was that I found out in science class, that dough was merely a mixture of flour and water. Clearly, my science teacher was not a baker. Nevertheless, I was beyond excited about this revelation. So, when I got home from school that day, I set to make my very first blueberry pie.
determination is what rises above barriers toward success.
It contained flour, water, blueberries, and nothing else. The best part was that my family ate it, the whole thing. They were terrific sports.
Of course, I found the first recipe could be improved upon, and you might ask, why did I not Google it? And I respond, well it was the early 80s, or maybe the 70s, which one I’m not sure. You may ask, why did you not grab a cookbook? And I respond, the cookbooks were in a cupboard over the fridge, and even with the stool, there was no way, the even shorter version of my short self could reach up there. So, much like the same exuberance of my adult personality, I was determined to figure this out, no matter the barriers to success.
My no fail pie pastry is easy enough to work with, keto & low carb friendly, and of course, husband approved.
What followed was about three months of terrible blueberry pie. The dough was as hard as the rolling pin I was rolling the dough with. While my school library had lots of books, it did not have one cookbook. The filling, well that did get better with time as I discovered ingredients like cinnamon and sugar. But the pastry, that was a tough go. I added things like sugar and butter, but never hit upon the right ratio.
My mother wasn’t a baker, and pie is a very Canadian dessert, so not in the repertoire of either of my grandmothers. I have to admit, after the three months were over, I was sick of pie, and so was my family. It didn’t matter that the dough was finally evolving into a real pastry dough, I just needed a break. So I moved to cakes. However, that perseverance has stayed with me.
Fast forward to my married life, my beloved husband, loves pie. Oh, no. All of a sudden I had to get back into the pie making game. Which I did. And when Keto came along, I got the famous ‘sad face’ when he found out the pie was not going to be made as frequently. So I began my quest for an awesome no fail pie pastry that was easy enough to work with, keto / low carb friendly, and husband approved.
Then I discovered Carbalose Flour. Hello, game changer! The trick is to using it, is adjusting the starch level to not only lessen the stronger flavour of carbalose, but also mimic a pastry flour. Then in addition to water, I added vinegar and vodka, both reduce when baked to make a finer, tastier crust. Then, making the recipe as a Pate Brisée, I added just a touch of sweetener—yum! The fats I used for this was a combination for both organic palm shortening and butter. I will post an all butter version shortly. This gives the dough the favour of butter, but the flakiness of shortening. Voila, Flaky No-Fail Keto Pie Pastry!
Organic shortening is not Crisco. It is an organic, sustainable unrefined palm shortening. The one that is a nutritious oil that’s good for the environment and supports small scale farmers. Please do not use refined palm shortening like Crisco; it is stripped of all nutrients, terrible for you. It is chiefly responsible for destroying millions of acres of rain forest in places like Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Thailand, and Sumatra that threatens the very existence of the tigers and orangutans. I quite like orangutans, so think of your health, of course, but also consider the animals and buy sustainable palm products. Alright, lecture complete, back to the recipe.
If you are vegan, you can replace the butter with organic shortening, but you may need a touch more ice-cold water. Additionally, if you want this recipe to be free of alcohol, you can replace the vodka with apple cider vinegar. And, if you are using this for a savoury dish, omit your sweetener. And if you want to use only butter, you can do that as well.
Making the dough is rather simple. The actual time doing it is not long at all, but you need time for it to rest in the fridge. Crucially is the blending step with your dough blender or bench scraper.
Get it nice and incorporated so the pieces are small with nothing bigger than the size of a pea.
Basically, get every thing together once you form a dough, get it into a ball right away by kneading it a few times. You don’t want to overwork it.
Then, you flatten ball to a disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and let rest in fridge or overnight. I make dough in advance all the time, as it is good in the fridge for three days or a month in the freezer.
When rolling it out use a small amount of carbalose flour and resistant wheat starch to dust the surface. The dough can be sticky, use a pie bag, parchment, or other stick resistant surface that will assist in moving the dough into the pan.
Roll out, either on parchment or in your pie bag, using a rolling pin to the shape of the pan and trim using a pizza wheel cutter.
I roll out a 12 inch circle for a 9 inch pie plate.
If you are blind baking, use parchment paper. Do not use foil to hold the pie weights, it will stick and what a mess. Learn from my trial and error, using foil will make you sad.
I’m a natural decorator so I like to experiment with trimming pie, so I often make extra dough to do so. Or you can flute it, both look lovely
Just like any pie pastry, using ingredients that are cold and letting the dough rest in the fridge is the key to success. I love this recipe. It works well and is consistent, and it totally tastes like it would be the kind that is full of carbs but it’s not! It’s also husband approved!
Would I make this recipe all the time, even though it is wheat based? No, but it’s an awesome treat recipe that doesn’t have you sacrificing all the hard work you have put in following a strict keto / low carb plan.
Now that you have the Flaky No-Fail Keto Pie Pastry recipe, check out some of my own pie recipes:
All Canadian Low Carb Butter Tarts
Keto Mock Pecan Pumpkin Seed Pie (coming soon)
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do,
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