Nest Full of New

Bob’s Red Mill? Yes, I’m already a fan.  Bob has millions of fans. And, let’s face it, he’s adorable!

Bob’s Red Mill is arguably most beloved by the gluten-free community. Bob’s markets more than 50 gluten-free products, from active dry yeast and black bean flour to xanthan gum and teff flour. The current explosion of interest in gluten-free cooking and baking may have helped business, but Bob’s Red Mill, and their gluten free products, have actually been around for decades. Their first opportunity in the gluten-free niche came in 1985, when members of the Seattle-based Gluten Intolerance Group approached Bob’s Red Mill and encouraged them to sell xanthan gum, an agent that gives gluten-free baked goods viscosity and bulk. They tracked down this key ingredient and began using it in their mixes, as well as repackaging it for sale under the Bob’s Red Mill name. The Seattle advocacy and support group also urged him to separate naturally gluten-free grains, such as rice, from his other products. To do this, Bob’s has an entirely separate facility for manufacturing and packaging gluten-free goods, as well as a laboratory for developing new gluten-free products.

I was asked to review the new Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust mix with my group through the Moms Meet network. I distributed the mix to several ladies in the group who volunteered to create a delicious pie with the crust mix so we could sample it in different applications.  I made a pecan pie!

The first thing I noticed on this eye-catching pink package was the ingredients: Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, Sugar, Rice Bran, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum.  Nothing foreign or hard to pronounce. No preservatives or artificial anything…love that.  Also, the mix only requires butter (or butter and shortening) and water.  So simple.

The directions call for 12 tablespoons of butter and 8 tablespoons of shortening, with the option of using all butter if you prefer.  Add the butter/shortening to the mix in a food processor and pulse ten times, one second each. You can also cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork (or pair of knives like my grandmother did!)

Pour the mix into a bowl and add six tablespoons of ice water. Add just enough so that the ingredients hold together when squeezed in your hand.  (TIP: We learned here that overmixing or kneading definitely creates a tough crust.) Divide in half, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.  It’s lovely that you can see the bits of butter dispersed throughout the dough. I snuck a taste of the dough at this point and it was very good.  Mildly sweet and really buttery.

So here’s where I thought I knew better than the experts. The package says to roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap.  Well, I proceeded to roll it out on my board with a little teff flour and after getting it to roll out pretty nicely, I learned why you should follow the directions.  Because there’s no gluten, this dough doesn’t stretch and hold together like regular dough. When I tried to pick it up to put in my pie dish, it simply broke apart.  I pressed the pieces in instead and we were back in business.

The pecan pie turned out beautifully, as did my friends’ pies. Lemon chess, pumpkin, buttermilk, sweet potato, lemon meringue, apple and even a veggie pizza!  We.ate.so.much.pie.

The Verdict:

All agreed that they learned a lot about gluten free.  Everyone was familiar with Bob’s Red Mill, but not with the sheer number of products offered. The crust itself was pretty yummy. It was very crumbly – almost a cross between a regular crust and a graham cracker crust.  It didn’t brown as well as regular pie crust, but that didn’t affect the flavor at all.  About half of the group is gluten free or has a family member who follows a gluten free diet.  All said they would recommend this pie crust mix to anyone looking for gluten free alternatives.  I have one more package of the mix and will use it for Thanksgiving.  Our review group exchanged recipes during the tasting and I’m going to make my friend’s lemon chess pie for my family this year.

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix takes the guesswork out of gluten-free dessert! With this exceptional mix, it’s “easy as pie” to make a delicious, flaky crust that works wonderfully with any recipe. Each package makes two 9-inch, single-crust pies or one double-crust pie. Perfect for fruit, cream, or potpies, as well as quiches, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix won’t disappoint. Plus, it’s allergy-friendly, so you can trust it for your family.

Disclaimer: Bob’s Red Mill sent me this product in exchange for my review and the opinions expressed are strictly my own and those of my review group.