You don’t need a special pan for this rustic, free-form tart. Feel free to use other fruits when they’re in season, like pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, raspberries, or blueberries.

Recipe by Catherine Pla, adapted from Bob’s Red Mill

Yields one 9” or 4 5” crostatas

Gluten Free Crostata Dough

3⁄4 c Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour (or Cup for Cup or another blend you like)
1⁄4 c almond flour
1⁄4 c tapioca flour
1⁄4 t salt
8 T unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1⁄2” cubes
1⁄4-1⁄3 c ice water

Filling

3-4 large apples
2 T unsalted butter
2 t cinnamon
1⁄4 t salt
2 t vanilla bean paste, or extract
2⁄3 c brown sugar
1 T Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour (or Cup for Cup or another blend you like)
1 T tapioca flour
1 c cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 T almond flour
1 egg beaten with 1 T water for egg wash
Demerara sugar, for garnish
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2” cubes

To make the dough, add flours to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add cold butter cubes and toss in the flour mixture to coat. Use your fingers to squeeze the butter cubes flat, mashing them into the flour. Drizzle 1⁄4 cup of ice water into the flour mix and toss. Keep tossing until you have large and small chunks of dough in the bottom of the bowl. If there’s still a lot of flour, add a little more ice water. Be gentle so you don’t overwork the dough. Transfer dough chunks to a piece of plastic wrap and press it into a circle. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Peel, core, and slice the apples 1⁄4” thick. Add butter to a large skillet. When butter has melted, add in apples and sauté for 5 minutes to soften slightly. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, gluten free flour and tapioca flour to mix. Add cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to the skillet and stir. Add in the brown sugar/flour mix and cranberries. Stir to combine and cook 2 minutes more, then remove apples from the heat. Set aside to cool slightly.

Flour a work surface and roll dough into a large circle (or divide dough into 4 equal pieces and roll out 4 smaller circles if you're making individual crostatas) about 1⁄8” thick. Transfer dough to a sheet pan lined with parchment. Sprinkle almond flour over the crust, leaving a 2” border. Add the apple/cranberry filling to the center of the dough circle(s). You can either mound the apple filling on free-form style or arrange the slices in a circle or in rows. Brush the 2” border with a little water. Fold the border up and over the edges of the fruit mound. Pinch decoratively to make a pleat. Continue all the way around the circle. Chill crostata in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes while preheating the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove crostata from the refrigerator, brush dough with beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with demerara sugar. Place cubes of butter on top of the fruit. Bake until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling, 35-40 minutes. The underside of the crostata should also be browned. Transfer to a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature, accompanied by vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Perfect Dough for Crostatas

Yields one 9” or 10” crostata, or pie shell

Make this dough ahead of time, wrap in plastic and refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze for 2 months. I always make a double recipe and freeze one.

1 1⁄4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1⁄2 t Kosher salt
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3-4 T ice water

Place flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour. You can also use a food processor, but be careful not to over process.

Sprinkle ice water, one tablespoon at a time, over the mixture, stirring to work in the water. You want dough to hold together, but not be too wet. Transfer to a floured work surface and gather the dough together to form a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

Apple Cranberry Crostata (Gluten Free)

Perfect Dough for Crostatas