Description
This pie is my favorite way to bake summer’s strawberries. Instant tapioca is the secret to making this pie perfectly juicy without being overly watery.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Crust
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
For the Strawberry Filling
- 6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half (about 2 pounds)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup instant tapioca
- large pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 large egg, beaten and granulated sugar for topping the unbaked pie
Instructions
- To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture. Some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes; some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring the dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help rechill the butter and distribute the moisture.
- To make the filling, in a medium bowl toss together strawberries, sugars, tapioca, salt, lemon juice and ground ginger. Toss until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed and let rest for 10 minutes. The strawberries will begin to produce juice.
- To assemble the pie, on a well-floured surface, roll the bottom crust 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a pie pan. Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan.
- Spoon filling into piecrust.
- Roll out the top crust in the same manner. Use a pizza slicer to slice the dough into 1-inch wide strips and weave the crust strips into a lattice on top of the pie. Refrigerate the pie while you preheat the oven.
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Brush the egg wash lightly over pie crust, skipping the edges of the pie crust. They’ll brown on their own. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake the pie for 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the strawberry filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
