You can’t celebrate Fourth of July without pie, in my opinion. And this year, no surprise, I decided to tackle a new recipe: a riff on Justin Chapple’s blueberry pie with a rye crust.
The second I spotted a photo of his polka-dotted pastry, I was compelled to recreate it for a few reasons:
- It’s striking.
- It’s somewhat unique, given the inclusion of rye flour in the crust.
- It’s seasonal. Berries and peaches (my addition) are at their peak.
Despite being a bit wary of baking with whole grains and fresh fruit, I forged ahead – and the finished product turned out better than expected. The dough was easy to work with and the filling set up perfectly (after sitting overnight in the fridge). Best of all, no soggy bottom!
Serve generous slices of peach and blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a satisfying summertime dessert. Leftovers, if you have any, are delicious for breakfast.
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine.
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- ⅔ cup ice water
- 4 cups blueberries
- 3 medium peaches, peeled and cut into ¾" chunks (see notes)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons water
- Turbinado sugar (for finish, optional)
- In a large bowl, combine the flours and salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal. Add water and mix with a fork until the ingredients start to come together. Then use your hands to lightly knead the dough in the bowl until it forms a ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide in half. Shape each half into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients.
- Remove 1 disc of dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 14" circle. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9” springform pan, pressing it against the bottom and sides. Pour the filling into the pie shell and transfer to the freezer.
- Remove the other disc of dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a ¼"-thick circle. Using a sharp knife, cut out a 9" circle; then cut out some circles with small round cutters, leaving a 1" border around the edges.
- Remove pie from the freezer and place the second piece of dough over the filling. Gently press edges into the bottom crust to seal; use a sharp knife to trim excess dough.
- Press together scraps and roll out dough until it's about ¼" thick. Cut out more small circles and lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Transfer cutouts and pie to the freezer and let chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove cutouts and pie from the freezer. Brush the top crust with egg wash and arrange the cutouts on top. Brush cutouts with more egg wash and sprinkle with the Turbinado sugar, if using.
- Place the springform pan on a baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the top crust gets too brown before it is done baking, cover loosely with foil.
- Remove pie from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Then remove ring and transfer pie to a wire rack to cool for at least 5 hours before serving.
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