Ahh…The Fruit Pies of Summer! That sounds a bit like a housewives reality show, but, in my reality, fruit pies are one of the best parts of the summer season. Until now, fruit pies have been uncharted territory for our blog. However, since Kyle discovered the Gluten Free Pastry Dough from Epicurious (you will remember this dough from our GF Pop Tarts post), pie was next on his list of foods in which he wanted to gluten-free-ify with this pastry crust.
So, Kyle’s Blueberry Crumble Pie has become a bit of a Franken-recipe. He took the crust from the GF Pop Tarts, the cinnamon-sugar crumb topping from the Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars, and the Blueberry Pie filling from the Epicurious recipe for Blueberry Crumble Pie. He has followed the pie recipe a few other times for non-GF pies, and, while delicious, their crumb topping cannot hold a candle to the one from Smitten Kitchen.
The only change made to the pie filling recipe was to increase the lemon juice to one tablespoon. The added tartness of the extra lemon juice contrasts beautifully with the natural sweetness of the blueberries and the brown sugar from the crumble.
Once you add in the butter-liciousness of the crust and crumble the cinnamon flavors in the topping, a well orchestrated symphony has been created – crafting the ultimate summer pie. If you add a dollop of some freshly whipped cream or a scoop of our Corn Milk Ice Cream, a delightful sense of pie Zen will come over you.
The recipe for the GF dough yields enough for two pies. The good news? The unbaked dough can be frozen for a couple of months. So, there is more pie in your future this summer. You are welcome.
As you know, sometimes when crafting a new recipe one makes a few adjustments. The first time Kyle baked this pie, he used the original, non-GF recipe’s cooking time and temperatures. Even though the pie was still devoured in a ravenous fashion, the crust was a bit dark for his liking. So, Kyle tweaked the temp and time a tad.
When a second pie was made, Kyle decreased the oven temperature to 350 degrees and then reduced the amount of cooking time during the blind-baking stage. This might seem like we are adding yet another step, but in the end, you will be thankful. Well, your taste buds will be thankful.
Blind baking will help set the crust, this keeps it dry and flaky once it has been filled with the moisture-filled fruit. No one wants a pie crust that ends up soggy, so blind-baking is key to a dry, flaky, yummy crust.
When working on rolling your pie crust. remember to gently reshape and rotate the dough as you roll it out. This is to make sure the dough isn’t sticking to the surface, no one wanted tears in their dough! Add a bit more GF flour under it if you feel it needs it.
Another Kyle trick, (I never knew this pie crust trick before, maybe many of you already knew, I am a late bloomer) for when it is time to get the pie crust neatly into it’s dish, is to invert a 9″ pie plate over the rolled out dough. You then should slide your hand (gently) underneath the parchment paper, then re-invert. This allows the pie crust to fit into the pie plate with little to no tragic tearing. Genius.
Gluten Free Pie – success! A Pandora’s box has been opened, and pies are on the horizon. During the Thanksgiving holiday I just know we will have delicious versions of GF Pumpkin Pie. And Apple Pie. And maybe a plethora of other fabulous pie creations. Brace yourself!
Crust and Filling adapted from Epicurious. Crumb Topping adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
- For the Crust:
- 1¼ cups gluten free cookie dough flour (4.25 ounces)
- ½ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (2.75 ounces), plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup granulated sugar (3.5 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled in freezer for 10 minutes
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces and chilled in freezer for 10 minutes
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the blueberry filling:
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 cups (2 pints) fresh blueberries
- For the crumb topping:
- 1 cup (206 g.) dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 stick butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup (125 g.) All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend
- Whipped Cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve
- To make the pie dough, pulse cookie dough flour, gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse just until they form pea-sized pieces. Ad eggs and vanilla and process until the dough just begins to hold together, about 10 seconds.
- Turn out mixture onto a work surface and push together to form a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine, then divide dough in half and flatten into 2 disks with smooth edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate one disk until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. The other disk can be stored (well wrapped) in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just thaw in the refrigerator the night before baking, and - woohoo! - you’re one step closer to having pie!
- Dust a large piece of parchment paper and your rolling pin with all-purpose gluten-free flour. Remove the dough disk from the refrigerator and roll out on parchment into a ⅛” thick round, gently reshaping and rotating the dough as you go to make sure it’s not sticking, and adding more GF flour underneath as needed. If dough becomes too soft or sticky, slide dough-covered parchment onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Invert a 9” pie plate over rolled out dough, gently slide your hand under parchment paper, and re-invert. Remove parchment paper, then fit dough into pie plate and crimp edges as desired. Chill in freezer 10 minutes before baking.
- Line a large baking sheet with foil and place on a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust for 10 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and pie weights and bake for another 5 minutes. Transfer crust to a wire rack; set aside to cool.
- To make the blueberry filling, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add blueberries and lemon juice; toss gently to coat and evenly distribute. Let filling stand, tossing occasionally, until berries release their juices, 20-30 minutes.
- To make the crumb topping, , combine dark brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and melted butter in a small bowl. Stir in 1 cup of gluten free flour.
- To assemble and bake, spoon blueberry filling into crust, then sprinkle crumb topping over. Cover pie loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F until filling is bubbling and topping is golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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