One of the first things I learned to bake was pie. My teacher was my beautiful grandmother, Adeline, who is 97 years young! These days she can't do much baking. Looking back, I am so thankful for the hundreds of hours I got to spend with her baking or watching her bake. All of those hours, I never realized at the time, were leading up to one of the most amazing gifts...being the one to carry on her traditions and recipes. She grew up in a time when you baked with what you had and what was in season. Every Summer when the rhubarb ripened she would start making pies. Also as a child of the 1920s, her mentality is to never waste anything. People caught on that if you gave her rhubarb from your garden she would put it to good use and that use was almost always PIE!
Over the years I have done very little to her recipe but have merely tried to pin down the exact measurements so it is easier to share. She really didn't follow a recipe for her pie crust. If she did it would read like this: make a pile of flour, add other ingredients and work together until it feels right. There are a few key secret ingredients that make it hers, like Baking Powder in the pie crust and Tapioca in the filling.
In these photos I have added some fancy designs and color but if grandma were making it, it would have a standard lattice top sealed around the edges with a fork and void of any egg wash.
Pie Crust:
155g Unsalted Butter (I like Kerry Gold) diced/cold
90g Vegetable Shortening - diced/cold
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
2Tbs. Granulated Sugar
1/2tsp Salt
425g All Purpose Flour
8 Tbs Ice Water
Using a food processor, add all dry ingredients into the food processor and pulse a few times to mix well. Add in Butter and Shortening and pulse just until crumb consistency. Slowly add in ice water until dough begins to come together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Form each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
This recipe can be made by hand with a pastry blender or fork but I prefer to use the food processor to make sure the butter and shortening stay cold. It makes for a flakier crust. If the butter or shortening start to soften too much it will leave you with greasy crust. So if you are making by hand just avoid handling too much and try to work quickly.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling:
433g Rhubarb cut into 1" piece
1Tbs Tapioca
1Egg
1C Sugar
About 10 Strawberries (optional)
Prepare rhubarb by washing and trimming leaves and ends and cut into 1/2" to 1" pieces. Place rhubarb in a bowl and add Sugar, Egg and Tapioca. Stir until combined. Wash and trim strawberries, cut in half.
Putting it all together:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pie plate, I like to use Vegetable Shortening. Take one disk of crust out of the fridge. Roll out a large enough circle to overlap your pie plate. Use the rolling pin to transfer it to the pan by partly rolling the circle onto the rolling pin and then unrolling it over the plate. Gently push dough against the bottom of the plate and then against the sides. Be sure not to puncture or crack the crust or the filing will leak out. Add the rhubarb filling and distribute evenly. Place strawberries on top of the Rhubarb mixture to your liking. Don't go overboard because too many strawberries will make it too wet. Roll out your second pie disk and Cut even strips to make your lattice pattern. Trim around the edge of the pie plate with a sharp knife and shape your edge however you like. You can use a fork to seal or pinch it. Paint on Egg Wash if desired. You can also add food dye to the egg wash if you want to create the strawberry pattern. Bake in the oven for about an hour until bubbling and golden brown. You can start baking with foil over the edges if you are concerned about it burning and remove the last 20 minutes.
Let the pie cool before cutting to avoid the filling running out. Once cooled the filling should stay together thanks to the Tapioca. Enjoy!
Comments
Post a Comment