PIE-A-DAY #30
This recipe comes to us from Emily Luchetti, co-author of The Fearless Baker: 175 Surprisingly Simple and Utterly Indulgent Recipes with Lisa Weiss.
Keep reading for the recipe…
Cherry Filling
4 1/2 pounds (about 8 cups) Bing cherries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca flour or cornstarch
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Large pinch kosher salt
1 prebaked 9 1/2-inch baked pie crust and 10 lattice strips (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the filling: Stem and pit the cherries. There should be about 6 cups. Put the cherries in a heavy, nonreactive saucepan, cover, and place over medium-low heat. Cook the cherries until they begin to give off some of their juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover and add the 3/4 cup sugar, tapioca flour or cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Continue to cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Spread the cherries in the pie crust. Lay the strips of lattice over the top of the filled tart crust, forming a lattice pattern. Brush the cream on the lattice strips and then sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar.
Bake until the lattice is golden and the cherry juices are thick, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pie Dough
Adapted from The Fearless Baker (Little, Brown and Company 2011)
Emily Luchetti
9 1/2 inch pie pan (not deep dish)
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch kosher salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
About 5 tablespoons ice-cold water
To make the dough in a food processor: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in the food processor bowl. Pressing the pulse button quickly, pulse the mixture until the butter is the size of small peas, 5 to 10 pulses. This will happen very quickly, do not over mix it. Add the 5 tablespoons of ice-cold water, then pulse just until the dough is crumbly. Stop the machine and gently squeeze about 1/3 cup of dough in your hand. If it comes together without any dry pieces, you’ve added enough water. If it’s still floury, pulse in another tablespoon of water and test it again. Add a little more water if necessary or continue to mix until the dough forms small clumps. Do not process it to the point where it forms a ball.
To make the dough using a stand mixer: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer. On low speed, using the paddle attachment, mix in the butter until it is the size of small peas. Add the 5 tablespoons of ice-cold water, then mix it in just until the dough is crumbly. Stop the machine and gently squeeze about 1/3 cup of dough in your hand. If it comes together without any dry pieces, you’ve added enough water. If it’s still floury, stir in another tablespoon of water and test it again. Add a little more water if necessary or continue to mix until the dough forms small clumps. Do not mix it to the point where it forms a ball.
To form and roll the dough: Press the dough into 2 flat (1-inch-thick) disks—without treating it like Play-Doh and mashing it. One disk should use two-thirds of the dough, the other disk one-third. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days. The dough can also be frozen for 2 months. Make sure you let the dough warm up for about 15 minutes after taking it out of the fridge so that you can roll it easily.
To roll out the dough: Put the larger dough disk on a generously floured work surface—don’t worry, the dough won’t absorb any more flour at this point and it’s more important that it doesn’t stick. Sprinkle more flour on the top of the dough. Roll it into an evenly thick 14-inch circle, or one that’s 2 inches wider than your pie pan.
A quick and easy way to measure the size is to hold the pie pan over the dough and make sure the dough is about 2 inches wider than the top of pan. The important thing to keep in mind is that you’re aiming for an evenly thick, as well as evenly round, circle.
As you roll, try not to press the pin down at the outer edge, otherwise the center will be thick and the edge thin.
There are several ways to roll the dough, but a couple of them work for me. You can work from the center out and always roll away from your body, starting at the 12 noon position and then rotating the dough a quarter turn each time. Or simply roll from the center, going to 12:00, then 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00. Whichever way you find you’re comfortable with, pick up the dough occasionally to make sure it’s not sticking to your work surface.
To line the pie pan with the dough: Make sure the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface by running a large metal spatula underneath the dough. Transfer the dough to the pie pan by gently lifting up one end of the circle and loosely rolling it around the rolling pin and then unrolling it so it’s centered over the pan. Press it into and along the inside bottom corner of the pie pan. Trim the dough around the edge of the pan, leaving a 1/4- to 1/2-inch edge hanging over the side. Fold the edge under and crimp or make a decorative pattern.
To make the lattice: For the lattice top, roll the smaller disk so that it is 1/8 inch thick. It doesn’t matter what shape you roll it, just so it’s evenly thick. Using a sharp knife or decorative wheel cutter, cut it into 10 (3/4- to 1-inch-wide) strips.
To bake the pie crust: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Press foil onto the side and bottom of the dough-lined pan and loosely fold the excess foil over the pie edge. Using a fork, prick holes through the foil into dough all over the side and bottom. You can also use parchment paper and weights. Bake until the edge of the dough is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil.
Return the pan to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Let cool to room temperature.