Crust
4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups frozen shortening (butter flavored Crisco is reportedly dairy-free)
Ice water (about 1/2 cup)
1.) Crust really is a pain in the butt. I’ve probably made a hundred pies and I still doubt myself every time. I now make crust with my food processor, but it is very easy to make a gloppy mess with it, especially when adding water.
2.) Pulse the flour and salt together in the food processor or whisk together in a large bowl if making by hand.
3.) Add half the shortening and pulse 8-10 times. Add the other half and pulse another 8-10 times. If making by hand, cut the shortening in and blend well with a pastry blender.
4.) Now comes the water part. I hate the water part. Add too little and crust is crumbly and impossible to roll out. Add too much and it is a gummy tough mess, impossible to fix. It is alway better to under-water, you can fix that.
5.) If you are new to crust-making, it is safer to dump the dough into large bowl to add water by hand, but you can do it in the food processor if you’re careful. Take the lid off the food processor and sprinkle 1/4 cup of water on the dough, mix it around the bowl with a spoon. Replace the lid, give it a few pulses and check the dough by pinching it between your fingers. If it seems crumbly add another 2-4 T of water, stir around with a spoon, give it a few pulses and see where you are at. Don’t over pulse!
6.) Divide the dough in 2 blobs, wrap in plastic wrap and shape into flat disks. Freeze until needed.
Filling the Pie
1.) Roll out half the dough and press into and up the edges of a 13 x 18 inch jelly roll pan.
2.) Peel and thinly slice 10-15 apples into the pan. I have a cool peeler-corer-slicer for this task. Add enough apples to fill the pan completely, up to the pan edge.
3.) Sprinkle cinnamon over the apples, about 1-2 teaspoons to taste.
4.) Sprinkle sugar over the apples, about 1 cup.
5.) Sprinkle some vanilla over the apples, 1-2 teaspoons.
6.) Roll out the second half of the crust, very thinly, and place over the apples. Seal the edges the best you can. Cut steam holes in the top.
7.) Put the whole pan in the freezer while oven preheats to 375.
8.) Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling bubbles in the center.
9.) Cool a bit before glazing.
Glaze
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Powdered sugar
1.) Mix enough powdered sugar into the juice to make it honey-thick.
2.) Drizzle over the crust in a rogue, non-type-A, come-what-may manner.
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I love Cath of A Blithe Palate for many, many reasons, not the least of which being that every now and then, unto my life, she will bring joy in the form of a cookbook.
That’s what I call a fabulous virtual friend. Were I ever to meet her in person, I just might smother her [...]
There is no better way to start summer vacation than with a fresh strawberry rhubarb pie! I could happily go with straight rhubarb, but the little ones in the house appreciated the sweetness of the strawberries. This will be my first posting of the basic dairy-free pie crust I use all the time. The recipe is a piece of American culinary history, as it came straight out of my 1939 copy of Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Depression-era cookbooks are an absolute treasure of dairy and egg-free recipes. If crust making seems too daunting, you can use Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts…something I do a bit more often than I’d like to admit.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie3 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb, 1/2 inch thick slices ( 1 1/2 pound bunch, untrimmed)16 ounce package of strawberries, hulled and halved1/2 cup brown sugar1/2 cup white sugar1/4 c. cornstarch1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon salt1.) Make the dough first, then work on the filling while the dough chills in the refrigerator…unless you’re thinking, fresh pie is good enough for today, and you’re using a Pillsbury crust. Then just start making the filling while the crust warms up on your counter.2.) Mix all the filling ingredients together and let them sit while you roll out the crust.3.) Pre-heat oven to 400.4.) Roll half the dough out and make the pie base. Dump in the filling. Roll out the other half and make the little lattice top and crimp around the edges. I do a “cheaters lattice”, where the crust isn’t interwoven. The pieces are just lined up at an angle. Dairy-free crust is very soft and breakable and any messing around causes the crust to crumble in your hands. I actually really hate the crust rolling part. I’ve made zillions of pies and it still gives me heartburn. Brush with water and sprinkle with sugar.5.) Place the pie on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. The pie will bubble over, so be prepared.6.) Bake for 20 minutes at 400, then decrease the heat to 350 and bake for another 1 hour and 20 minutes or so. If it starts to brown too quickly (and it will), place some foil over the whole pie loosely. The pie is done when it starts to bubble towards the center. If it is just bubbling at the edges, it is not done in the center, so keep baking.7.) Cool before eating, it thickens as it cools.Basic Dairy-Free Double Pie Crust3 cups flour1 cup shortening, sliced into chunks and frozen1 teaspoon salt1 T. sugarIce water (about 6-8 Tablespoons)1.) I’m lazy, and crust stresses me out. I use a food processor. If you have a pastry cutter and know how to use it, you’re probably better at pie making that I, so you can figure out how to adapt.2.) Dump the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and give it a few pulses to mix things up.3.) Dump in half of the sliced shortening. Give it 8 short pulses.4.) Dump in the rest of the shortening. Give it another 8 pulses.5.) Spoon in 6 Tablespoons of ice water, give it another 8 pulses. Test the dough by pinching a bit of it together. If it seems really crumbly or dry and looks like it might hassle you while rolling it out, add the other 2 T. of water and give a few more pulses.6.) Divide into two blobs, wrap in plastic wrap, form into a nice disk and refrigerate until you want to use it or at least an hour.Some pie crust advice that might help your pastry-induced anxieties: The dough is sticky. Your life will be better if you roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap. If you try use a lot of flour, the dough will get dry and tough. The dough is crumbly. Just do your best when transferring to the pie pan, pinch the dough to patch up holes. The dough doesn’t taste like much (no butter!!). Keep it thin and the fruit flavor will shine through. The dough likes to burn. After the crust has baked a while and is starting to turn golden, set a piece of foil over the whole thing. Don’t crimp it or anything. Just a straight piece over top.
