Strawberry Pie

I'm sure many people can recall the smell of homemade pie coming from the kitchen.  That wasn't the case at my house growing up.  While my mother is an excellent cook, most of the sweets she made at home were Filipino desserts.  My first introduction to pies came from Marie Callendar's and Polly's Pies.  Pies were always store bought and only enjoyed during parties and holidays.  

I was never a fan of store bought strawberries pies.  I remember them always being too sweet, too mushy, and laden with too much glaze.  Luckily, my interest in baking sprouted early as a child and by middle school I started to experiment with my own pies.

I can't wait for the Strawberry Festival later this month in Oxnard!  I look forward to it every year.  I love driving up to Oxnard and smelling the sweet intoxicating aroma of ripe strawberries that fill the air.  Once I get my crate of strawberries, be prepared for fresh strawberry pie, strawberry shortcakes, and chocolate dipped strawberries!

In the meantime, this is a delicious baked pie that celebrates one of my favorite fruits.  Its really difficult to just have one slice.  Enjoy it a la mode with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert or for breakfast with your morning coffee.  Its great served warm or chilled.  Its just that delicious.  The hardest part about making this pie is waiting for it to cool to temperature before slicing.

I hope to one day be that mother/grandmother at creates warm childhood memories of sweet treats and comfort in the kitchen.

Strawberry Pie
makes 1-9 inch double crust pie

Ingredients


5 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced in half/quartered

1/2 cup granulated sugar, or more depending on sweetness of berries

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp sea salt

two crust pie, recipe follows

milk, as needed

turbinado sugar, as needed

Method


1.  Prepare pie crust.

2.  Roll out the one dough between two sheets of parchment paper.  Lightly flour the bottom paper and the top of the dough.  If the dough is too hard or too cold, let it rest for a few minutes until it is pliable.  Roll dough to about 10 inches in diameter about about 1/4 inch thick.  Place the pie plate upside down over the rolled dough to make sure it is the right size.

3.  Move dough into the pie plate and firmly press it into the bottom and sides.  Trim the excess dough leaving 1/2 inch all around. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill.

4.  Roll out the other dough until 10 inches in the diameter.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 5 minutes.

5.  Toss strawberries with sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl.

6.  Pour strawberries into the chilled pie crust.  Cover with top crust.  Decorate the edges with a fork or your fingers.  Chill pie while you preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

7.  Place chilled pie on baking sheet.  Brush top of the pie lightly with whole milk.  Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Use a knife to cut four slits/vent holes in the top crust.  This is necessary to let the steam escape and prevent the top crust from exploding.

8.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Then reduce to the heat to 350 degrees and make for 15 minutes.   Rotate the pie and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes until pie is golden brown.  Let pie cool on rack before serving.


Two Crust Pie

Ingredients


2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

16 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold, cut into tablespoons

5 Tbsp water, ice cold

2 egg yolks, cold

Method


1. Pulse together flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor.  Add butter one tablespoon at a time while the food processor is running.  Stop machine once mixture is crumbly and like coarse sand in texture.

2.  Add water and yolks.  Pulse for a couple seconds until dough begins to come together.  Remove from machine and finish kneading on a lightly floured surface.  Divide dough into two equal disks and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.