I've been in a real pie mood lately. I'm not sure if spring is making me crave fruity fresh delights, or if it's just happenstance. I only know I find my mind drifting off to pie quite frequently.This is another winner of a recipe from The Brass Sisters, so far everything I've made from their book had been fantastic. It help that Berkeley Bowl had some deep red rhubarb and fantasticly sweet strawberries.
Double Crust
(altered from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball)
20 Tbs butter
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2T sugar
8-10 Tbs ice water (I generally end up adding about 11-12)
Sift together flour and sugar. Place bowl of dry ingredients and the butter in the freezer for at least half an hour. Grate frozen butter into the flour mixture (if your kitchen is warm, sticking the grater in the freezer for a few minutes can help keep things neat). Toss mixture to break up any clumps of butter. Sprinkle water over the flour and toss with a fork until it is somewhat evenly distributed. Kneed a time or two to get the dough to stick together, but no more than you have to. Divide in half and shape each piece into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for about half an hour (not super critical, but it makes the dough easier to work with)
Roll half of the dough out on floured surface and place in pie tin.
(altered from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball)
20 Tbs butter
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2T sugar
8-10 Tbs ice water (I generally end up adding about 11-12)
Sift together flour and sugar. Place bowl of dry ingredients and the butter in the freezer for at least half an hour. Grate frozen butter into the flour mixture (if your kitchen is warm, sticking the grater in the freezer for a few minutes can help keep things neat). Toss mixture to break up any clumps of butter. Sprinkle water over the flour and toss with a fork until it is somewhat evenly distributed. Kneed a time or two to get the dough to stick together, but no more than you have to. Divide in half and shape each piece into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for about half an hour (not super critical, but it makes the dough easier to work with)
Roll half of the dough out on floured surface and place in pie tin.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
From Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters
4-5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 pieces (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg ( I omit this, I love nutmeg but not in my fruit pie)
pinch of salt
1 pint strawberries, sliced
2 Tbs butter (I omit this as well. I've never thought it made a pie better tasting, and my crusts are fatty enough)
Combine rhubarb, sugar, and flour. Set aside for one hour (I got pulled away from the kitchen and left it for a day and a half. As far as I can tell this had no negative effect on the filling). Preheat oven to 400°F. Strain rhubarb and collect the juice. Pour juice into a saucepan and add nutmeg and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until juice thickens. Allow to cool 10 minutes. Mix together with rhubarb and strawberries.
Add fruit to pie shell and dot with butter. Add top crust, crimp edges and cut decorative slits. Brush with egg wash (I was low on eggs, so I used milk. It works in a pinch)
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Make sure to have a pan beneath the pie as it is a leaky one. I forgot until I heard the drips spattering on the bottom of the oven, so I had a bit of a smoky mess.
This pie is very loose when fresh, but firms up nicely one cold. I however prefer hot messy pie, so I generally cut into mine as soon as they are out of the oven.
From Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters
4-5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 pieces (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg ( I omit this, I love nutmeg but not in my fruit pie)
pinch of salt
1 pint strawberries, sliced
2 Tbs butter (I omit this as well. I've never thought it made a pie better tasting, and my crusts are fatty enough)
Combine rhubarb, sugar, and flour. Set aside for one hour (I got pulled away from the kitchen and left it for a day and a half. As far as I can tell this had no negative effect on the filling). Preheat oven to 400°F. Strain rhubarb and collect the juice. Pour juice into a saucepan and add nutmeg and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until juice thickens. Allow to cool 10 minutes. Mix together with rhubarb and strawberries.
Add fruit to pie shell and dot with butter. Add top crust, crimp edges and cut decorative slits. Brush with egg wash (I was low on eggs, so I used milk. It works in a pinch)
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Make sure to have a pan beneath the pie as it is a leaky one. I forgot until I heard the drips spattering on the bottom of the oven, so I had a bit of a smoky mess.
This pie is very loose when fresh, but firms up nicely one cold. I however prefer hot messy pie, so I generally cut into mine as soon as they are out of the oven.
3 comments:
Your crust look so amazingly flaky.
I like just rhubarb pies mostly but the strawberry rhubarb is a classic and you did a beautiful job. :)
I've never eaten rhubarb, but this pie looks so delicious, I'd have a slice if I could. Beautiful photo!
How funny that you saw my kitchen over at jen's tour and knew I was in the east bay! What gave me away? Are you in the area too? Where do you bake?
I love your site--always shopping for baking inspiration. I use a similar crust recipe that is a modification of the Cooks Illustrated one: http://figslavendercheese.blogspot.com/2008/08/angelina-and-i-make-pie-she-picks-i.html
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