Everybody loves blueberries. It is one of our favorite times of the year! Blueberry Time! We of course, wait with bated breath for the blueberries to ripen. There are many days of waiting once the little green berries appear. We love wandering through the bushes looking at all the beautiful bunches of blueberries, dying for them to ripen. This year we had some fabulous bunches of blueberries that almost looked like bunches of grapes hanging from the bush. We love the fact that we have to protect the bushes from our song bird friends just like we did for the cherry trees. Everyone is waiting for the blueberries to arrive!
Once they ripen, we love picking them and dropping them into our little tin pails (and then rereading our most beloved childrens stories, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey). We love snacking on them as we move along the blueberry patch. One thing we did not expect however was how much our Australian Shepard Jake would love them. So much in fact that we have caught him snacking on blueberries right off the bushes when he thought no one was looking! Who can blame him? Apparently, that is my fault, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Jake not only likes blueberries, but also loves snacking on carrots and green beans (he hasn't figured out how to self pick those out of the garden, yet). One afternoon while I was making lunch, I slipped him a blueberry so he would stop begging, and his love of blueberries began!
We love to put our fresh blueberries in many of our baked goods in the bakery, including these scrumptious hand pies.We use a simple all butter crust, concoct a sweetly seasoned blueberry filling and then smother them in raw sugar to obtain the perfect hand held blueberry pie! We often use any kind of berry we have around the farm. A few weeks ago we had plenty of blackberries from a neighbor and threw those in with some raspberries and blueberries for a mixed berry hand pie. These fly off the shelf at the Farm Store and Farmers Market! They are absolutely the perfect size to eat right out of your hand while you shop at the market.
Putting together a classic blueberry pie is a skill that takes time to develop. There were many failed, runny pies in our past! A couple of tricks that we have used include making the pie crust the night before you want to make the pie, so that the flour, butter and liquid have time to blend together and the gluten has time to rest. The filling needs a little bit of precooking so that it gels and comes together as well. Once the pie is filled, and your top crust is perfectly placed, then we let the whole thing rest in the fridge while the oven preheats. That final resting and cooling, I believe is what helps hold the pie together.
Classic Blueberry Pie
Recipe adapted from The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by the Elsen Sisters
The Classic All Butter Crust
(Recipe makes enough for a 9 or 10 inch double crust pie - make the night before you want to make the pie, so the gluten has time to rest and the flavor of the vinegar has time to develop)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup ice
Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add butter pieces, toss to coat and using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour misture until the butter is the size of peas
Combine water, vinegar and ice (helps to keep the mixture cold- heat is the enemy- you want the butter to stay whole, not melt into the flour). Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons over the flour mixture and cut it in using a scraper or spatula. Slowly add more of the liquid mixture until the dough comes together in a ball with some dry bits still visible. Shape the ball into two discs, flatten each disc in between its own plastic wrap- at this stage, I like to use the rolling pin to flatten the ball inside the plastic wrap, then place in the fridge.
The Blueberry Filling
On pie making day, roll out one disc of dough for the bottom crust, place in your pie pan and put back in the fridge while you prepare the inside of the pie.
1 small baking apple (shredded with a large hole box grater)
6 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar (we use an organic raw sugar)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons ground arrowroot or corn starch
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss till all berries are coated. Take about 2-3 cups of the berry mixture and place in a sauce pan over medium heat until the berries start to break down and the mixture thickens. Once thickened, combine with the other berries. Now, you can fill your pie shell and dress the top of your pie however you would like. We enjoy the weave patterns, sometimes with very thin strips, sometimes with very thick strips of dough. We like a more rustic looking farm pie, so we have very pinched sides that offer up solid, eat with your hand crusts.
Once your pie is together, place back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes as you preheat the oven to 425 F.
Once the oven is ready, brush your pie with one egg wisked with a little water and pinch of salt and sprinkle the entire pie with raw sugar until you think the pie can't take any more sugar on top (trust us- it is fabulous!).
Place the pie on a baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 375 F, move the pie up to a middle rack and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the desired deep golden brown. Again, we like a more rustic looking pie, so we tend to have some edges be very brown.
Completely cool on a wire rack for 2 to 3 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature (preferably with a vanilla bean ice cream- oh! we made that once! Another blog post...). The pie will keep refridgerated for 3 days or at room temperature for 2 days.
I hope that you enjoy making your blueberry pie as much as we do. Enjoy the taste of summer!