Here’s what I really think about strawberry pies: they are one of the best fruit pies, but they don’t deserve the best $10 strawberries that you find at the farmers market. Those sweet-as-sugar $10 strawberries are for eating and eating only. The strawberries from the grocery store in the clamshells on the other hand, are perfect for pie. Once you add brown and white sugars, a bit of vanilla, and let it cook down inside a pie, the best parts of the berry are brought out. I added nectarine to the filling so it really screams ‘I’m a summer pie, baby!’
Ingredients
All-Butter Pie Crust
300g(2 1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
13g(1 tbsp) granulated sugar
1tspsalt
227g(1 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes
120ml(1/2 cup) cold water
110g(1/2 cup) ice cubes
1tbspapple cider vinegar , or vinegar of choice
Egg Wash
1 large egg
15ml(1 tbsp) whole milk
Strawberry Nectarine Filling
580g(4 cups) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
275g(2 cups) fresh nectarines, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
133g(2/3 cup) granulated sugar, *see note
67g(1/3 cup) brown sugar, packed
56g(1/3 cup and 2 tbsp) cornstarch
2tbspfresh lemon juice
1tbspvanilla
1/2tspsalt
Instructions
All-Butter Pie Crust
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the butter. With a pastry cutter or a fork, quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay).
In a large measuring cup or a small bowl, combine the water, ice, and vinegar. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons (15 ml) of the ice-water mixture over the flour mixture and mix with a spatula until the water is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice-water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) at a time. Using the spatula or your hands, mix until the dough comes together in a ball with some dry, shaggy bits remaining. Squeeze and pinch the dough with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of the ice-water mixture, if necessary, to combine.
Divide the dough into 2 portions (3 portions if making extra dough for decorative pie lattice). Shape each portion of dough into a flat disk, wrap each disk in plastic, and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour (or overnight), to give the dough time to rest.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Strawberry Nectarine Filling
In a large bowl, stir together the strawberries, nectarines, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Allow the mixture to rest for at least 15 minutes while you roll out the dough.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of the dough to create an 10 1⁄2-inch circle. Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Roll out the second disk of dough to create an 10-inch circle.
To prepare the lattice, cut the second rolled-out disk of pie dough into 1⁄2- to 1-inch wide strips, depending on how wide you want the lattice pieces to be. Set these strips aside. To create a braided strip, cut three 1⁄4-inch strips of dough and braid as you would braid hair, pinching all three strips at the top and continuing to overlap the middle strip with the exterior strips.
Transfer the strawberry-nectarine filling to the pie dish (straining out the juices that have released).
Egg Wash
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk to create an egg wash. Set the egg wash aside.
Assembly
To assemble the lattice, place the longest strip of pie dough down the middle of the filled pie. Place the other strips of pie dough on both sides of the center strip, leaving a ½-inch gap between each strip, until you reach the edge of the pie. To create the woven lattice, lift up every other strip on the pie to the halfway mark. Place a new strip of pie dough perpendicular to the pieces already there. Take the pieces that were lifted up and place them over the new perpendicular piece. Repeat these steps with the pieces of dough that are now under the perpendicular piece. Repeat until you reach the edge of the pie and each piece of dough is in an over-under-over pattern.
Trim any pie dough hanging over the edges of the pie dish. Using the tines of a fork, press down on the perimeter of the pie, combining the top and bottom crusts at the edges.
Roll out third disc of pie dough. Using a cookie cutter or stamp of your choice, cut out shapes from the pie dough. With a pastry brush or your fingers, brush a thin layer of the egg wash onto the backside of each cut-out before arranging it on the lattice pie top. Egg wash the top of the pie.
Place the pie on a large-rimmed baking sheet to catch anyjuices that might bubble over. Bake the pie on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.Reduce the oven’s temperature to 350F and bake the pie for 35 to 45 minutes, oruntil the crust is golden brown and the filling begins to bubble through thelattice or vents. Let the pie cool on a wire rack for about 3 hours.
Notes
Make 1.5 portions of the pie dough recipe if making a decorative pie crust.If your strawberries are not completely ripe, you can add 2 tablespoons (26 g) more of granulated sugar to compensate.