Even though the holidays are the premier time of year for pie baking, summer fruits are irresistible to tuck into a buttery crust. Cobblers and crisps are a bit faster, but there is nothing quite like a homemade pie with with fresh berries. You may make the pastry a day or two ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator. It will be faster to pull the whole dish together on the day you bake. If you like a thinner, saucier filling, use the 3 tablespoons of the tapioca flour. If you like a thicker filling, use the 4 tablespoons of tapioca flour.
For the crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt, fine grain
2 sticks (16 tablespoons/1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch slices and chilled
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water
For the filling
2 quarts blueberries
1 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons tapioca flour
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, fine grain
1 tablespoon lemon juice
To finish
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sugar, approximately
To make the crust, place the flour, sugar, and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix together. Add the butter slices and pulse several times until the mixture looks like coarse meal (oatmeal) but not forming bigger clumps. Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Sprinkle the dough with 5 tablespoons water. Using a rubber spatula, flatten the dough by pressing against the side of the bowl, working your way around the bowl. Once it comes together into a ball, divide in half, making one piece slightly larger than the other. Place each piece onto plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, wrap tightly, and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
When ready to make the pie, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven with another rack below it. Grease a 9" glass or ceramic pie plate and set aside. Take the slightly larger piece of dough and roll out to about 1/8" thickness. Fold into quarters, transfer to the pie plate putting the point of the dough in the center of the pie plate. Unfold the dough and gently ease it into the plate using the back of your finger, not the tips. Let the dough hang over the sides and refrigerate.
To make the filling, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a rubber spatula. Set aside.
Roll out the second piece of dough to about 1/8" thickness. Remove the chilled pie plate from the refrigerator and pour the filling into the dish. Place the second dough over the fruit and fold up any dough hanging from the bottom layer. Crimp/pinch the two layers of dough together. Chill the pie for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
Remove pie from the refrigerator. Brush the top crust with the milk and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake the pie for 30 to 40 minutes. Place a piece of foil on the lower rack to catch any juices and continue baking until browned and bubbly, another 30 to 40 minutes. Total baking time is about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a rack to cool and serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or all by itself!
Variations
Use different fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, or a combination of any you like.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, or mace with or without the lemon zest.
Replace the lemon zest and juice with vanilla powder and extract.
Recipe and Photograph Copyright Deirdre Davis 2016
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