I suck at making pretty pies. There are multiple people I follow on Instagram or people I worked with during culinary school with that post absolutely beautiful pies that are works of art. As much as I sit and watch videos of these amazing pies being made and tell myself “Oh that’s not that hard, I could probably do that”, I can’t. They make it look far easier than it is! The second I try to do anything to pie dough my hands become about as coordinated as a five year old’s.
I’ve finally come to terms with this fact, though, and I’ve just decided to tell myself that no one will even see the pie I made if it tastes good enough–which actually held true for this pie. This pie definitely fit that bill- I gave it to a friend’s dad for father’s day and within a matter of hours the pie was gone.
So I think it’s safe to say no one cared that my pie didn’t have an adorable pie crust fox on it or some beautiful mountain that I probably couldn’t even draw if I tried, let alone make out of pie dough, in fact, it might have made them eat it even faster!
I used local summer berries which you really can’t beat, but frozen will do in a pinch! (You just need to increase the amount of cornstarch.)
Some tricks that I’ve learned over the years:
-Be sure to keep your dough as cold as possible so that the butter doesn’t melt. This means I usually cut the butter into cubes, put it in the fridge and then add it to the flour. If I’m feeling extra neurotic (or it’s over 75 degrees) I’ll throw it back in the fridge before adding the water.
-After you’ve incorporated the water into the dough, knead it a little bit until it becomes smoother- you may need to add more flour while you do this.
-Refrigerate the dough again for 15-20 minutes (or up to two days) before you roll out the dough to place it into the pie. This gives the gluten time to relax which will stop it from pulling away from the sides of the dish once it’s baked. This will also let the dough stay nice and cold which will make your pie dough flakier since the butter will expand and make air pockets! If anything, I’m overly cautious with my refrigerating, but it does make a damn good crust.
Here’s what you’ll need:
For the crust (this recipe is essentially straight from SmittenKitchen, but it really is my favorite pie dough around):
2 1/2 cups (315 grams) flour
1 tablespoon (15 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon (3 grams) Kosher salt
2 sticks (8 ounces, 225 grams tablespoons or 1 cup) butter, very cold
1/2-3/4 cup (4-6 ozs, 112-170 g) very cold water
Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Place back in the fridge to keep cool.
In a large bowl, add flour, salt, and sugar. Whisk to combine the ingredients.
Add the butter to the flour and, using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the dough into the flour. Continue to work the dough until the butter breaks down to pea sized pieces.
Pour the water onto the butter and flour, and combine with a rubber spatula until large pieces of dough start to form.
Then, using your hands, gently knead the pieces of dough until it forms one singular piece of dough. From here, I like to split the dough into two balls and wrap each ball in plastic wrap and form into a disc. Place the discs into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Once the dough has had time to rest and chill, place onto a floured surface and roll out until the dough is a 12″ circle(ish). I like to fold the bottom pie dough into quarters before I place it into the pie pan. This gives me more control over the dough and stops from spreading it too thin and tearing through the crust.
If you’re making a pie that requires baking, add the filling, place the top crust on, and seal the edges together. I like to brush the crust with an egg wash before baking which helps to make the crust shiny. I typically bake my pies at 400f until the filling starts to bubble and looks slightly syrupy.
If you’re using a filling that doesn’t require baking, cover the crust in parchment and add pie weights or uncooked beans. Bake the crust at 400 F for 20-25 minutes, until the dough is fragrant and the edges are a deep golden brown.
For the triple berry filling:
1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pint blueberries, washed
1 pint raspberries, washed
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Preheat the oven to 400F
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss until the berries are coated evenly with the sugar and cornstarch.
Place filling into an unbaked pie crust and place the second crust on top. Seal and egg wash the dough, and place the pie in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 30-45 minutes. Once the dough has hit this point, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until the pie comes to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400
Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Place back in the fridge to keep cool.
In a large bowl, add flour, salt, and sugar. Whisk to combine the ingredients.
Add the butter to the flour and, using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the dough into the flour. Continue to work the dough until the butter breaks down to pea sized pieces. Pour the water onto the butter and flour, and combine with a rubber spatula until large pieces of dough start to form. Then, using your hands, gently knead the pieces of dough until it forms one singular piece of dough. From here, I like to split the dough into two balls and wrap each ball in plastic wrap and form into a disc. Place the discs into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Once the dough has had time to rest and chill, place onto a floured surface and roll out until the dough is a 12″ circle(ish). I like to fold the bottom pie dough into quarters before I place it into the pie pan. This gives me more control over the dough and stops from spreading it too thin and tearing through the crust.
If you’re making a pie that requires baking, add the filling, place the top crust on, and seal the edges together. I like to brush the crust with an egg wash before baking which helps to make the crust shiny. I typically bake my pies at 400f until the filling starts to bubble and looks slightly syrupy.
If you’re using a filling that doesn’t require baking, cover the crust in parchment and add pie weights or uncooked beans. Bake the crust at 400 F for 20-25 minutes, until the dough is fragrant and the edges are a deep golden brown.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss until the berries are coated evenly with the sugar and cornstarch.
Place filling into an unbaked pie crust and place the second crust on top. Seal and egg wash the dough, and place the pie in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 30-45 minutes. Once the dough has hit this point, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until the pie comes to room temperature.