At one of the Farmer's Markets I went to this past weekend there was a table filled with pints of freshly picked sour cherries. Immediately I thought 'wasn't there a cherry pie recipe using sour cherries I wanted to make?' Not having the recipe with me as well as momentarily even forgetting where I saw it (Bon Appetit), I passed on the sour cherries after being reassured of their availability for the next couple of weeks. While a cherry pie might be considered by some as the slightly more patriotic Fourth of July pie (thanks in part to mythical story of George Washington and the cherry tree), what is not to love about a blueberry pie, served with or without vanilla ice cream on the side?
The making of pies has always been little intimidating to me. My limited repertoire of pies, more specifically pies with a crust, includes only pumpkin and sweet potato. I have managed to sidestep making a homemade dough crust by convincing myself a pre-made refrigerator pie crust was just as good as one homemade. Rather than delve into the 'scary making a pie crust from scratch territory' my avoidance strategy was settling for the familiarity of the good, but not so great pre-made version. Needless to say I have expended a great deal of energy rationalizing and speculating about my ability (or rather inability) to make a great pie crust. My time was about to be put to better use. It was time to overcome my pie crust making fears of not making a crust 'good enough'.
In the process of making this blueberry pie I learned how to make a really, really great pie crust (and wicked blueberry pie). An equally important outcome was the reminder that once you let go of a fear you are capable of doing pretty much anything you set your heart on. 'What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is a more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.' No more settling for a refrigerated pie crust for my pies. The new mantra is now 'every pie deserves a homemade crust'.
The more common choices for the top crust of a pie are lattice, solid, honey-comb, and cut out designs. In the July/August issue of Martha Stewart's Living magazine, I discovered the less common 'pinwheel' pie crust. Made of twisted dough and somewhat reminiscent of fireworks (i.e., the spinner effect) it seemed like the perfect choice for this blueberry pie. Since I was already pushing myself to make a homemade pie crust, why choose a common pie crust top, why not make it just a little harder on myself?
But before getting to 'the crust', let me tell you about this six cups of fresh blueberries filling. With hints of cinnamon and lemon, this fruit filling is one that doesn't run all over the place when the pie is sliced. Nothing against runny fillings mind you, but there comes a point in ones' life when licking the plate in the presence of others is no longer socially acceptable.
There is just enough flour (1/3 cup) in the filling to help thicken it. One cup of the blueberries, the flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest, cinnamon, and lemon juice are mashed together with a potato masher or fork until thoroughly combined to form the paste that works as a binder. When mixed together with the remaining five cups of fresh blueberries, it creates an almost perfect non-runny, absolutely delicious pie filling.
Now back to the crust. This pie dough is made with both cold unsalted butter and frozen vegetable shortening. I know there are butter only dough making purists out there, but vegetable shortening really does help to create a flaky pie crust (and flaky it was). In addition to butter, vegetable shortening, flour, sugar, salt, and cold water, the crust ingredients also includes freshly squeezed lemon juice. Water added to flour causes the gluten in the flour to start forming (great for bread, not so great for flakey pie crusts) so the acid from the lemon juice helps to relax the dough, slowing down the formation of gluten. The acidity of the lemon juice further contributes to the flakiness of the crust without causing the crust to taste 'lemony'. Some pie makers use vinegar, some use lemon juice when making pie dough. As a 'novice' pie dough maker I am not yet able to weigh in on the merits of one over the other, I can only attest to the fact that the lemon juice worked!
This is a dough made in a food processor (no kneading necessary), shaped and wrapped into two disks, and chilled for at least two hours before it can be rolled out. I was first amazed by this dough's great texture for rolling (in my world this means the dough was smooth and didn't crack). Even more amazing was its' flavor both in raw and baked forms.
Half of the dough is used for the pie shell ,the other half for the pinwheel crust. To make the pinwheel strips, the dough is rolled out into a rectangular form and then cut in half inch strips using a pastry cutter or knife. The strips are then formed into spirals.
If there was at least one thing I would do differently the next time I make a pinwheel crust it would be to chill the cut strips in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before creating and placing the spirals on top of the pie. This very slight chilling might make it a bit easier to make the spirals. I was still pretty happy with the 'rustic' look to the finished pie (as compared to the 'perfect' look of Martha's inspiration pie). My pie 'forming' abilities are a work in progress.
Before placing the pie in a preheated oven (more on that to follow), the dough is brushed with an egg wash and then sprinkled with coarse sugar (either turbinado or white sanding sugar). I choose to make an egg wash made with one egg and one tablespoon of heavy cream (it could also be made with one egg and one tablespoon of water).
The oven is preheated to 425 degrees and reduced to 375 degrees when the pie is placed in the oven. After the pie bakes for 30 minutes (the edges of the pie should be pale golden), the edges of the pie are covered with foil to prevent burning. The pie then continues to bake for another 50 to 60 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the top crust is golden-brown. The total baking time for this blueberry pie is 80 to 90 minutes. My baking time was 85 minutes.
The smell of the pie baking in the oven is intoxicating. Having to wait for the baked pie needs to cool to room temperature before serving (about three hours) is a definitely a lesson in patience. While best on the day it is made, the pie can be made up to one day ahead and kept covered at room temperature. Leftovers, if you have them, can be kept in the refrigerator for several days.
If you too have suffered from a bit of pie making paralysis like I did, this blueberry pie might be what helps you work through it. Pies with a homemade crust really do taste better. Don't let anyone (or yourself) convince you otherwise.
Forgive me for all of the photos of the pie. Believe it or not I showed actually picture posting restraint. And oh, the backdrop for these photos was a vintage linen 48 star flag.
Blueberry Pie (adapted from Fine Cooking)
Ingredients
Pie Dough
12 ounces (2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour)
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 ounces (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
2 ounces (4 Tablespoons) frozen vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
5-6 Tablespoons ice cold water
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Filling
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Zest from one lemon
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
6 cups fresh (not frozen) blueberries
Egg wash: 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream (or 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon water)
2 Tablespoons coarse sugar (turbinado or white sanding sugar) for sprinkling on top of pie
Directions
Dough
1. Place sugar, flour and salt in food processor. Pulse briefly to combine.
2. Add butter and shortening, pulse until pieces are slightly larger than pea size (10-12 pulses).
3. Drizzle water and lemon juice evenly over flour mixture. Pulse until dough just comes together (10-14 pulses). Note: If dough isn't coming together, add more ice cold water, a scant tablespoon at a time).
4. Divide dough in half, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Filling
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Add 1 cup fresh blueberries. Crush into dry ingredients with a potato masher or fork to make a paste (it will be a loose paste).
2. Add the rest of the blueberries, tossing to completely coat them.
Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough into a 14 inch circle (about 1/8 inch in thickness).
3. Carefully roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll gently over a 9 inch glass pie plate (the dough should just hang over the edges).
4. Roll the overhand onto the rim of the pie plate, to form a high edge of crust. Using your fingers, crimp dough to a fluted edge. Place in refrigerator while rolling out second disk of dough.
5. Roll second dough disk to an 8 by 12 rectangle on a floured surface.
6. Cut rolled out dough into 1/2 inch wide strips using a pastry cutter or knife. Gently transfer strips to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill for about 10 minutes.
7. Add filling to pie shell.
8. Gently lift one strip for each end, twisting in opposite directions to twirl.
9. Starting at center of pie, place dough over filling in a spiral, connecting new strips as you go (connect by pinching the together).
10. Brush dough with egg wash and then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
11. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and place pie in oven (Suggestion: Place pie on a foil lined baking sheet, just in case you get any spillage.)
12. Bake pie for 30 minutes (edges will be lightly golden). Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil and continue baking for 50-60 minutes (filling will be bubbling and top of crust will be golden brown). Total baking time: 80-90 minutes.
13. Remove baked pie from oven, place on cooling rack. Allow to come to room temperature (about 3 hours) before serving.
14. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to several days.
Wishing you a happy, filled with fireworks and blueberry pie, Fourth of July! Or at least one filled with some blueberries (the Blueberry Crisp is pretty delicious if you are too busy to make a pie).
I will see you all 'virtually' when I return from my trip to Montana. I can hardly wait to celebrate both my nephew's 21st birthday (a little early) and my first western Independence Day!
