Professor Butter Beard’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
One two-crust pie
Two-Crust Pie Dough (For summer fruit pies, I always use Dorie’s pastry recipe)
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold
¼ cup ice water
Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:
4 cups hulled and sliced fresh strawberries (slice the berries in half)
2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb (cut into about 1” pieces)
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into four thin slices
Egg wash – 1 egg and 1 Tbsp heavy cream
1) For the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the dry mix. Pulse until the mixture is just combined. Add the water and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. Empty the contents into a medium bowl, gather into a ball and divide the dough in half. Form each half into a disk 6” wide, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
2) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and place a sheet pan on the center rack to pre-heat.
3) In a large bowl gently fold together the sliced fruits. In a medium bowl, whisk together the two sugars, the cornstarch, flour, cinnamon and salt. Fold this dry mix into the berries and let sit while you roll out the pie dough disks.
4) Roll out the first disk large enough to fit your chosen pie dish and leave a ½” overhang. Fit the bottom crust into the pie dish. Roll the second disk to the same size. Add the fruit onto the bottom crust and top with the four pieces of unsalted butter. Lay the top crust over the fruit and crimp the edges of the top and bottom as you wish.
5) Whisk together the egg and heavy cream to make a wash. Cut out a round disk in the center of the upper crust for ventilation while baking. Brush the top crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar (if desired).
6) Place the pie on the preheated sheet pan and bake the pie at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees and back for another 35-45 minutes until you see the center juices starting to bubble.
7) Cool the pie to at least room temperature on a wire rack before serving.
