Healthy Pastry Crust

Now we can't have a bake off without making pastry!

And yes, I know that there are vegan puff and shortcrust pastries available in the freezer section of the supermarket, but let's face it - they aren't exactly 'health food'. So when life requires pastry (as it sometimes does!) - this is what I make:

You'll need:

1 cup oat bran

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/4 cup maple syrup

3 Tablespoons applesauce

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until they stick together. It will look like there isn't enough moisture but just keep stirring and it will eventually hold together. The mixture will be slightly sticky.

Wrap in cling or baking paper and place in the fridge for 1/2 hour.

Turn pastry onto baking paper and roll between two sheets til flat.

Very gently remove the top sheet of baking paper and place a pie dish over the top of the pastry. Gently flip the dish & pastry over and press the pastry into the pie dish. Gently remove the top sheet of baking paper. The pastry may slightly crack, but don't worry. Run a knife along the edge of the pie tin to remove the excess pastry. Use this excess pastry to repair cracks and reinforce the curves between the base and sides of the pie dish.  

This pie works well without being blind baked - however you can bake it if you prefer a crispier crust.

Fill as desired :-)

Variation:

This version works best for sweet baked goods.

To alter this pastry to make it better for savoury baked goods, replace the oats with wholemeal flour and the maple syrup with soymilk. The process is the same and it will still work out :-)

Savoury pastry made with flour and soymilk

Note the pastry will keep in the fridge for up 3 days prior to being rolled out.

You can store the pastry in the fridge after it has been placed in the pie dish too.