Blueberry Pie (Maine)

A summertime favourite, blueberry pie, although enjoyed by American settlers, was documented as late as 1872 in the cookbook the Appledore Cookbook. The recipe titled "berry pies" calls for only two spoonfuls of sugar, a low amount when compared to contemporary recipes. Paul Richards' Book of Breads, Cakes, Pastries from 1907 mentions that blueberry pies were made in New York hotels for the past 20 years, and Lowney's Cook Book, also from 1907, has the earliest known recipe titled blueberry pie. Still, until the 1960s, blueberry pie - with rare exceptions - was not often included in New England cookbooks. The state of Maine, the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world has proclaimed the blueberry pie as the official state dessert, and April 28 of each year in the U.S. is celebrated as the National Blueberry Pie Day.

Pastry Dough:
2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. kosher or sea salt
18 Tbsp. (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
6-8 Tbsp. ice water

Filling:
5 cups fresh wild blueberries
3 Tbsp. tapioca or flour
½ cup sugar
½-1 tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1½ Tbsp. butter

First, prepare the pastry for the pie. In a medium-sized bowl add flour, salt, and sugar, then mix until combined. Next, add butter and using your fingers rub it in into the flour mixture until it starts looking like breadcrumbs.

Now, add six tablespoons of ice water and stir using a fork until it forms into a dough. If necessary, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, checking the consistency after each addition.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead only three times, then gather into a ball. Divide the dough into two pieces, a slightly larger and smaller piece.

Flatten each piece into a disk, then wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 400°F (204°C/184°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Toss the blueberries with flour, sugar, and lemon juice and set aside.

Take a large piece of the pastry dough, place it between two sheets of baking paper, and roll it out into a 13" circle.

Remove the top sheet of baking paper from the dough, place the dough paper-free side down into a pie pan, then remove the remaining baking paper.

Press the dough into the pie pan and leave any excess dough to overhang.

Repeat the same with the smaller disk of dough, only roll it to an 11" circle, and leave aside for later.

Pour the berries into the pie crust and top with pieces of butter.

Take the smaller circle of dough, remove the baking paper and place baking paper side on top, then also peel off that remaining sheet of baking paper.

With a knife make three slits in the top crust for steam to escape. Fold the bottom pie crust over the top and crimp together at the edges to seal.

Glaze with an egg wash and bake for 40-50 minutes.

Cooking Notes:

Blueberries: Most recipes will advise the use of wild blueberries because they provide more flavor than regular ones. If you can't get hold of those, regular blueberries will do just fine. In any case, fresh blueberries are always better than frozen ones.

Pie Crust: Although blueberry pie is typically prepared as a large, round pie, you can experiment with the shape and make blueberry hand pies instead. Replace the top crust with a crumb crust or substitute shortcrust pastry with phyllo dough.

Thickener: Some like the filling to be on the runny side, while others enjoy a thicker filling, meaning it's all a matter of preference when deciding the amount of thickener you will use. The type of thickener you use also plays a role. Here are some things to be mindful of when it comes to using thickeners. The sweeter the fruit and the more sugar you add to the filling, the more thickener you need to add. Also, if you're using frozen blueberries, you will want to add more thickener, while open-faced pies need less thickener because some water will evaporate during baking. Flour is the traditional choice, but take care when using it because you may end up with lumps of flour in your filling. Cornstarch is probably a better choice. Still, the main downside is that it is known to interfere with the taste. Nevertheless, even though the previous two do a fine job as thickening agents, tapioca and other starchy tubers like arrowroot are probably the best options for fruits like blueberries.

Method: Most chefs advise blind-baking the pie to prevent a soggy crust. And if you're using a double-crust, make sure you make slits on top to let steam escape.