Blueberry Pie with a Twist!
We stumbled across this recipe from King Arthur Baking this summer and tucked it away for right now! We even were smart and froze some blueberries from our blueberry picking day at Doles Orchard.
We obviously love the idea of adding blueberry wine to the filling to add some more depth and complexity. We made a few small changes and have noted them below.
Happy boozy baking!
You will need:
Crust
1 1/2 cups (142g) whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons (18g) buttermilk powder, optional (we did not use it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons (11g) confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, cold
5 tablespoons (71g) ice water
Filling
6 cups (1021g) frozen blueberries
1/2 cup (113g) bloom, rhubarb wine with wild Maine blueberries
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (113g) confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (53g) brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (28g) lemon juice
3 tablespoons (43g) butter, melted
1/4 cup (28g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Topping
2 tablespoons (28g) milk
2 tablespoons (25g) coarse sparkling sugar, optional. We used course brown sugar and a BUNCH of it.
Instructions (from King Arthur)
To make the crust: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, buttermilk powder, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Cut the butter into small cubes, and work it into the dry ingredients (using your fingers, a pastry blender or fork, or a mixer) until the dough is unevenly crumbly.
Sprinkle in the ice water, mixing until the dough is cohesive. Grab a handful; if it holds together willingly, and doesn't seem at all dry or crumbly, you've added enough liquid.
Divide the dough into two pieces, making one piece about twice the size of the other; the larger piece will be the bottom crust.
Shape each piece of dough into a disk about 1" thick. Working with one disk at a time, roll the edges along a floured work surface (as though the disk were a wheel), in order to smooth them out. Wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 3 days. Fun fact: we couldn’t find our rolling pin and found a bottle of wine works just as well for rolling!
To prepare the blueberries: Place the berries in a large sauté pan. Add the bloom wine. Simmer the berries gently, over medium-low heat, until the liquid in the bottom of the pan is syrupy; this will take about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat. This step can be done the day before; refrigerate the berries overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
To roll the crust: Flour your work surface, and roll the larger piece of dough into a 12" circle. Transfer the dough to a 9" regular (not deep-dish) pie pan that's at least 1 1/4" deep; leave the edge hanging over the edge of the pan.
To prepare the filling: In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the blueberries and their juice, the spices, vanilla, sugars, salt, and lemon juice. Mix in the butter, then the flour. We thought the filling was a little watery so we drained off some extra liquid before adding to the pie.
To assemble and bake the pie: Spoon the filling into the crust. Roll the remaining piece of dough into a 9" circle, and lay it atop the filling.
Bring the hanging edges of the bottom crust up and over the top crust, rolling and squeezing them together, then crimping decoratively. Cut three slashes in the top of the pie, to allow steam to escape. Brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with sparkling sugar, if desired.
Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil gently on top, covering the entire crust. Bake for an additional to 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and you can see the berries bubbling through the slits in the crust.
eighteen twenty step: We used the extra pie crust for decorating. When the pie was just about done we braided pie crust around the edge and added leaves and let it bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove the pie from the oven, and cool for 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
