Jun 28, 2011

Blueberry Pie

A generous family from our debate club hosted a party on their property this past week. Their business is growing berries, and some friends and I were lucky enough to pick and take home a load of beautiful, crisp blueberries.
I made a blueberry pie today, and since I have not posted in oh so long (having an invalid for a camera is not very inspiring) I decided to post the recipe even before I tried a piece!
The crust is whole wheat. The recipes used are found below.


{Pieces}

Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Adapted from Cheeky Kitchen's poptart crust recipe.
http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2010/07/perfect-whole-wheat-pie-crust-homemade-pop-tarts.html

1 1/2 C whole wheat
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold, cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk

In food processor (or large bowl), stir together flours, sugar, and salt. If using a processor, add butter and pulse to form a course meal; or, cut in slices of butter using a pastry cutter (or fork, if you have to).. It’s important that you don’t touch the crust with your bare hands, no matter how tempting that mixing option might be. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible and your hands will warm it up and make the crust less flaky. Pour the milk over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until moistened enough to hold the dough together. Use a fork to stir the dough after you’ve added each Tablespoon of milk. Quickly form the crust into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use (at least a 1/2 hour or up to a few days).

Note: This recipe makes enough dough for the bottom crust of a 9 in. round pie pan. I made a separate additional batch about 2/3 of this size for my lattice crust.



{Helper}

Blueberry Pie Filling

2 pints blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tb Lemon Juice
3 Tb Cornstarch

Combine and let ingredients meld.


{Pie}

Assembling Pie

Take chilled dough for bottom crust from the fridge and lay on a spacious work surface covered with a large piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Roll out dough to approximately 1/4 in. thick. The dough should be roughly circular with a 10-12 in. diameter. Remember, it must cover the bottom of the pan and reach up all sides.
When dough is rolled, invert your 9 in. pie pan in the center of your dough. At this point, you may want someone to help flip the crust. One person grab the edges of the wax paper/plastic wrap and begin to lift it up. Another set of hands sandwich the pie pan and crust and quickly flip the pan and set it on the work space. Once flipped, peel off the wax paper/plastic wrap and gently press the dough into the bottom and sides of pan.

NOTE: This can be done with one set of hands. I have done it. The best way to do so is to be sure you have enough margin on your wax paper/plastic wrap to fold it over your inverted pan. This way, you can both lift the pan and slip a hand underneath.

Pour blueberry filling into the crust.

If doing a lattice crust, roll out second ball of dough as the first. Slice into 1/2 in.-1 in. strips. Lay every other strip across pie, and weave the remaining strips through them the opposite direction. (For video instructions, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jv8BGw31Cg)

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the heat to 350 for 35 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Enjoy!