What Can I Use Instead Of Xanthan Gum In The Gluten Free Apple And Blackberry Pie?

Our answer

Nigella's Gluten-Free Apple And Blackberry Pie (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) has a gluten-free pastry made from a store-bought gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour blend and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum. Xanthan gum acts as a binder and helps to make the pastry dough a little easier to roll out.

Guar gum is usually the alternative to xanthan gum and is made from a legume, rather than fermented like xanthan gum. You normally use guar gum powder in the same quantities as xanthan gum, so for the pastry dough it would be ½ teaspoon. However, some people find guar gum difficult to digest. It may be worth trying the pastry without any xanthan gum as only a small amount is used and then you may not need quite all of the liquid to bind the dough, as xanthan gum absorbs quite a lot of liquid. You could use plant-based margarine and yogurt instead of the butter and sour cream to mix the pastry and when you add the second lot of liquid to the food processor, do it a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to come together. The dough should be soft and malleable and not sticky. As the dough is rolled between two sheets of baking parchment (parchment paper) it should roll out without cracking too much. But we would mention that we have not tried the recipe with these changes, so are unable to guarantee the resutls. Most of Nigella's gluten free baking does not use xanthan gum and you can find a selection on the Gluten-Free Cakes Page.