I thought this was going to be another pie disaster because I was tired and cranky while making it...and also because I am still a pie/dough amateur and was starting the process at 10:30pm.
I used Bittman's flaky pie crust recipe again, and also his filling recipe for blueberry pie. Yet again, it came out much more soupy than I wanted, but it turned out to be a hit nonetheless. Last time I made his crust, I rolled it too thick, this time it was a little too thin...hopefully next time it will be just right. At least I am learning! However, I think I'll take a break from Bittman next time and use someone else's pie recipe.
I left out the zested lemon out of sheer exhaustion because at this point it was about 1:30am, but I'd like to include it next time for a little more...zest. I got the idea to put stars on top of the pie from this recipe from The Baking Pan blog, but still used Bittman's recipe to make the extra dough for the stars. Lastly, this recipe makes enough dough for a deep dish pie crust because I only have a deep dish pie pan.
Here's the recipe... I didn't take pictures of the crust making process, but you could always look back at the photos from the strawberry rhubarb pie disaster. Even though that was a disaster, the crust actually came together much more easily that time. This time, I had to put the dough in the fridge for much longer to get it to stay together. Must be something about my new fridge...
Flaky Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
10 tablespoons butter (1 stick + 2 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons ice water
1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add the butter and process until the butter and flour are blended and look like cornmeal.
2. Place the mixture in a bowl and sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over it Use a wooden spoon or spatula to gather the mixture into a ball. If it seems dry, add a little more water. When you can wrap the mixture into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and flatten it into a small disk. Freeze the dough for 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle a large work surface with flour. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. If the dough is hard, let it hang out for a few minutes until you can press your fingers into it.
4. Roll the dough from the center out. Add flour if it's too sticky. Rotate the dough occasionally and turn it over once or twice while rolling. Use ragged edges of dough to repair any tears, adding a drop of water while you press the patch into place. When the dough is about 10 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick (whoops, didn't do that either), place dough into your pie plate.
5. Press dough firmly into the bottom of the pie plate and trim excess dough to about 1/2 inch all around (didn't do that either), then tuck it under itself around the edge of the plate (not sure what that means).
6. Decorate the edges of the dough with a fork, and freeze for 10 minutes. The dough, not you. Before baking, prick the dough all over with a fork.
Stars
For the stars...repeat the dough making process and roll the dough to 1/4 thick. Use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut out the stars. Refrigerate the stars on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper while making the filling.
Blueberry Pie Filling
5 cups blueberries, rinsed
1 cup sugar, or a little less depending on how sweet the blueberries or how sweet you want the pie
2 tablespoons cornstarch (I have a feeling this is where the soupiness came in...I'm wondering if 3 tablespoons would have been better)
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground allspice or nutmeg
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced lemon zest (optional)
1. Gently mix the blueberries with sugar, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Stir in the lemon juice and zest and pour into the pie crust, making a higher mound in the center than on the sides. Refrigerate while you preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Top the filling with the stars in a circular pattern. The tips of the stars can overlap.
3. Place the pie on a baking sheet and brush the top of the stars lightly with milk and sprinkle with some sugar. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown. It will be very juicy so give it plenty of time to cool. (I cooled it overnight...still juicy though. But good!)
Blueberry filling in the pie crust, and with a strawberry rhubarb:
And here are the fireworks:
No comments:
Post a Comment