Weaved Crust Pies

Recipes & photos

by Adinda de Boer

www.adindadeboer.com

Beginning

Our Taiwanese apartment looked and smelled like a tiny, messy grandma bakery the last couple of days, which I love. I've never baked so many pies in one day and the days after that. I think my skinny jeans needs to wait a little longer after tasting, eating and finishing all these scrumptious baked fruit and chocolate pie's. That's life, I know But! I did however have some delicious pie's to comfort you through the rainy and colder autumn days to come. Typical autumn weather is a nice excuse to stay at home and warm up the house by baking some delicious pie's don't you think?

It's easy to find endless kinds of fruit back here in Taiwan, but some of the Western fruit pie recipes ask for specific varieties of pears or grapes. I find it simple to change some of the fruity ingredients as long as it's from the same family. That's also the reason why I love many pie recipe's so much, because they are so flexible. In this case I used Chinese apple pears instead of Bosc or Barlett pears and Japanese Kyocho grapes instead of Concord grapes. So if you can't find that specific type of fruit, don't worry; try to experiment ing with other types of fruit.

I also thought of some fun new ways to decorate my pies crusts, beyond the traditional weave. For example: I used two colors of dough for the Derby chocolate pie crust and used my scissors to cut out some fun shapes out of the lattice strips of the grape pie. I also used a lattice cutter for the first time. I always thought that it would make my pie look »store bought«, but I've noticed whilst making crusts by hand, they never quite looks like machine made. Especially with my personalized almond and raisin circle crust. And Braiding is one of my favorite ways to decorate a crust, it makes a pie look very good right away.

Well, I hope this will inspire you to have a fun afternoon baking and crust experimentation.

Have fun!

Crust for all Pies

Recipe from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie book

Ingredients: Double pie crust

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup cold vinegar

1 cup ice

1. Stir the flour, salt and sugar together in a a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are ok; be careful not to over blend).

2. Combine the water, cider vinegar and ice in a large measuring cup or small bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. Using the bench scraper, your hands (or both) and mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling any dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine. Shape the dough into a flat disc, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow. If making the double-crust version, divide the dough in half before shaping each portion into a flat disc. Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.

Pear Anise Pie

filling recipe from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie book

Filling

6-8 bosc or bartlett pears, just barely ripe and a little firm

juice of 3 lemons

3/4 cup white sugar

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoon anise seed, divided, or 1 t anise extract

1/8 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

2 dashes of old fashioned bitters

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

demerara sugar, for sprinkling

1. One day ahead (or hours before), make crust. Preheat oven to 425F. Roll the bottom crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Leave about 1/2 inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan's edge. Chill in the fridge. Roll out the top crust and cut into 0.5 cm-wide lattice strips on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. Preheat your oven to 425F/220C.

2. Core, peel, and slice the pears to about 1/4 inch thick with a sharp chef's knife. Place in a large mixing bowl and coat with the lemon juice to prevent browning. Add in the anise extract if you are using. Combine the sugar, flour, 1 1/2 tsp aniseed (if not using the extract), allspice, salt, and bitters in another bowl. Lightly whisk to combine. Gently combine the pears with the flour and spice mixture. Remove the crust from the fridge and gently place the pear mixture into it.

3. Arrange the lattice crust on top and trim or fold the ends to match the edge of the bottom crust. Roll the crust in from the outer edge to seal the two layers together. Crimp the edges, by going around the crust, pressing the top and bottom crusts together with your fingers.

4. Place pie in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up the crust. Remove pie and brush crust with remaining egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar and anise seed.

5. Bake at 425F for 15-20 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack until crust just starts to brown.

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F, move the pie to the center rack, and bake for 45-55 minutes more. Pie is finished once juices are bubbling, you can easily poke a knife or skewer into the pears, and the bottom crust is browned. (Using a glass pie pan makes this easier to see.)

Grape Pie

filling recipe from Martha Stewart

Filling

7 1/2 to 8 cups concord grapes, rinsed

1/2 cup sugar

4 1/2 to 5 teaspoons cornstarch

1 large egg

1. One day ahead (or hours before), make crust. Roll the bottom crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Leave about 1/2 inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan's edge. Chill in the fridge. Roll out the top crust and cut into 1, 2 and 3 cm wide lattice strips on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Cut triangle shapes out of the lattice strips, using scissors. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. Preheat oven to 450F/220C.

2. Remove skins from grapes by pinching the ends of each grape, reserving both the pulp and skins separately, discarding any accumulated liquid.

3. Place pulp in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until the seeds separate from the pulp and the pulp breaks down, about 6 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve into the bowl with the reserved skins; discard solids. Let cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge for 2 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove grape mixture from fridge. Stir in sugar and cornstarch into the grape mixture and pour into prepared pie crust. Beat an egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Arrange the lattice strips on top of the pie. Brush the crust with egg mixture, reserving any remaining mixture. Transfer pie to oven; bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F/180C. Continue baking until filling jiggles when shaken, about 30minutes. Transfer pie to a wire cooling rack.

Raisin Pie

filling recipe from Martha Stewart

Filling

2 1/2 heaped cups raisins

2 cups cold water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

pinch of salt

1. One day ahead (or hours before), make crust. Roll the bottom crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Leave about 1/2 inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan's edge. Chill in the fridge. Roll out the top crust and cut into 2,5 cm-wide lattice strips on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Braid 3 or 4 braids, enough to cover the whole pie. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. Preheat oven to 450F/220C.

2. In a medium saucepan, mix together raisins, water, cornstarch, sugar, vinegar, salt, cinnamon, and butter. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Let boil until very thick, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour raisin mixture into pie shell. Place the braided lattice strips on top of the pie. Crimp edges as desired.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, milk, and salt. Brush egg mixture over the crust and place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Plum & Blueberry Pie

filling recipe inspired by Nigel Slater's plum pie recipe

Filling

ripe plums and blueberries, together: 800g-1kg

golden caster sugar, 2-3 tbsp

ground cinnamon, a knifepoint

some milk for the crust

1. One day ahead (or hours before), make crust. Roll the bottom crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Leave about 1/2 inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan's edge. Chill in the fridge. Roll out the top crust on a floured board, cut out the lattice crust with a lattice cutter on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Also cut out a 1-inch lattice strip to cover the edge of the pie. Cover the lattice in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge.

2. Cut the fruit into large pieces, toss with the caster sugar and cinnamon and put into a lightly buttered 20/22cm baking dish. Lift the lattice crust over the pie. Place the 1-inch lattice strip on the edge of the pie. Press almonds and raisins onto the edge, one after another. Brush the pastry lightly with milk and bake for 40 minutes. Dust with caster sugar and serve warm with cream (optional).

Derby Pie

chocolate crust recipe from Martha Stewart

Chocolate crust (for 2 color braiding)

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 ounces unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

1/3 cup brewed coffee, cold

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and sugar in a large bowl; whisk to incorporate. Add the butter, then using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Slowly add the cold coffee in thirds, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition. Continue stirring until a soft dough has formed. Gather with your hands and knead slightly, then mold into a circular disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (or up to two days). Remove dough from refrigerator and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface and transfer to 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Leave about 1/2 inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan's edge, then fold and crimp. Return to refrigerator for 20 minutes before filling and/or baking.

Derby Pie

recipe from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie book

Filling

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 to 3 tablespoons bourbon

dash old fashion bitters

cocoa powder for dusting

1. One day ahead (or hours before), make crust. Roll the bottom crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Leave about 1/2 inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan's edge. Chill in the fridge. Roll out the top crust and cut into 1-inch-wide lattice strips on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Cover the lattice in plastic wrap and chill fridge. If you want to have a braided upper crust, now is the time to braid it; braiding 1 chocolate lattice strip and 2 natural colored strips together. After braiding, let the braids rest in the fridge on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Pre-heat the oven to 325 F / 160 C.

2. In a large saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a light boil. Place the chocolate pieces in a large bowl, then pour the hot mixture over the top. Let stand for 5 minutes, before adding in the salt and whisking to combine. Whisk the eggs in a separate small bowl. Slowly pour in a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the eggs; whisking as you pour to acclimatize the eggs to the warmth. Whisk this egg mixture back into the chocolate mixture, adding the peppermint extract and bourbon then whisk until smooth and combined. Strain this chocolate mixture through a fine-mesh sieve directly into the pie crust. Place the braided lattice strips on the edge of the crust.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The pie is ready when the edges are puffed in slightly and the center is solid, but still slightly wobbly. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack for 2 to 3 hours, before dusting with cocoa powder.