Blueberry-Apple pie for a happy π (pi) day
Pi day is March 14. Yes Pi is that special number we associate with circles- when the diameter of a circle is 1, the circumference is Pi. If you use the date format DDMM then you don't get a Pi day coz April 31st doesn't exist and that's really sad. But you can celebrate Pi Approximation Day which is observed on July 22, due to π being roughly equal to 22/7. Now if you were truly geeky, you would know that the ratio of circumference to diameter is always Pi. But mostly we don't really care about that, what we really crave is the circle of sweet juicy tasterlicious pastry known as pie. Now pies in general are more interesting when bisected into 8 equal parts called slices. Served ala mode... one's circumference also changes relative to two times the radius of the pie. (Which means if you have 2 slices you're going to get fat!)
Here's a blueberry-apple pie to celebrate Pi day.
The crust is a standard from RealBakingwithRose.com, it was pretty straight forward to make 2 crusts, since I had decided that I wanted a double crusted pie. The filling was three pints of blue berries and an apple plus sugar. This time I didn't use any cornstarch, figuring that i wanted a juicier pie, but in retrospect, I should have coz all the purple middle started leaking out.
3 pints blueberries
1 apple sliced
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs cornstarch (I should have used)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Basic Pie Crust
1 1/3 C flour
salt
4oz butter chilled
3-5 Tbs cold water/vodka
egg wash
Cut the butter into the flour till it resembles small pea size crumbs. Add 3 Tbs of water and toss till water is incorporated into clumps. Add water as needed till most of ingredients start forming a ball. Knead lightly in the bowl until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Take care not to over work the dough. Shape into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap and rest for an hour. This allows the flour to hydrate and the gluten relax.
Pre-heat oven to 425oF. Grease and flour pie dish. Roll the pastry out into a circle and line pie dish. Add blue berries and apple pieces. Sprinkle with cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar. Brush edges with egg wash. Cover with second layer of crust, trim off excess dough leaving 1/2 inch overlap. Crimp edges and cut steam vent the shape of Pi into the top. Brush with egg wash. Bake 20 minutes @425oF. Reduce temp to 350oF and continue baking 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar for texture.