BLUEBERRY PIE

I have a big book of pie recipes, but no one gives a damn. The people want what the people want and the people want Blueberry. (Or Apple.) The classics always win. I made this blueberry pie for Mother’s Day. The recipe calls for fresh blueberries, which I’m sure is awesome, but I used frozen. In fact, I’ve only ever used frozen blueberries because you need 2 pounds worth. There’s two and half bags of blueberries in this pie! (But they were on sale. Hah.) Maybe in the summer I’ll take a road trip to St. Jacobs and buy a shit load of fresh fruit and bake my heart out. 

A lattice top looks super fancy and complicated, but the weave is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. If you’re making your pie dough from scratch (which you should) it’ll be very delicate and annoying, much harder to handle than if you use store-bought dough, but it will also taste ten times better. I was looking for instructional videos on “The YouTube” to demonstrate the way to weave and it took forever, because so many people were doing it the hard way. The hell? I was thinking about making my own video, but I finally found a good one. Check out the link above and you’ll be solid.

BLUEBERRY PIE

All-purpose flour, for dusting
Pâte Brisée
2 pounds (about 7 cups) fresh blueberries, picked over and rinsed
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg yolk, for egg wash
1 tbsp heavy cream, for egg wash
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400º F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a 13-inch round, about ⅛ inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate.

In a large bowl, toss together berries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice until combined. Pour mixture into pie plate, piling in centre.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining disk of dough. To make lattice, cut dough into ten 1-inch-wide strips using a fluted pastry wheel. Lightly bush edge of dough in pie plate with water. Carefully arrange dough strips on top, weaving to form a lattice. Trim dough to a 1-inch overhand. Fold edges under as desired, and crimp with a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream for egg wash; brush on top of dough strips and edge of pie shell. Generously sprinkle with sanding sugar. Refrigerate pie until firm, about 30 minutes.

Transfer pie plate to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake until crust begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350ºF. Continue baking until crust is deep golden brown and juices bubble, 55 minutes more. (If crust browns too quickly, tent pit with foil.) Transfer pie to a wire rack; let cool completely at least 3 hours, before serving.

Source: Martha Stewart’s Pies & Tarts