 |
| So pretty going in! |
Well, my, oh, my, I have learned my lesson.
A blueberry pie needs top and bottom
crusts!
I was dying for blueberry pie
and saw this recipe in
The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. I’ve loved all the
other recipes I’ve tried. Why not this? A perfect pie crust? I’m in. Except I
didn’t make 2 crusts, I made a single crust recipe. Silly me.
The blueberries bubbled up and over the edge.
And they didn’t hold together when slicing a piece of pie. Sigh.
Flavor? Divine!
Presentation? meh!
Okay, disaster! Truly! LOL
New Mantra: Read directions first!!
Let me show you how it should
have been made by providing you with the exact instructions from the
cookbook. And their final product pictures. And a link for how to buy the cookbook at the
end.
about the book
The ATK cookbook “cooks” explain why each recipes works
throughout the book. Their explanations are lengthy, but if you really want to
understand the effort that went into finding just the right recipe, and perhaps
to better your own gluten-free baking choices, they’re worth reading.
From the Cookbook:
BLUEBERRY PIE
Why this recipe works:
We wanted a pie that had a firm, juicy filling full of fresh
blueberry flavor with still plump berries, and we also wanted a crisp, flaky
crust. To thicken the pie, we tried cornstarch as well as our gluten-free flour
blend but preferred tapioca starch, which was subtle enough to allow the berry
flavor to shine through. Too much of it,
though, created a congealed mess.
Cooking some of the blueberries down to a saucy consistency
helped us reduce the amount of tapioca required, as did adding a peeled Granny
Smith apple (*see my note below) that we shredded on the large holes of a box
grater. Rich in pectin, the apple helped
thicken the berries naturally. (*I
forgot to purchase the apple, so I added 1 teaspoon pectin in its place.)
Since gluten-free pie crusts can easily turn soggy, we found
that preheating a sheet pan in the oven and baking the pie on the lower rack
helped keep the crust crisp. It’s not safe to place a glass Pyrex pie plate on
a preheated baking sheet. (Oops, I
didn’t see this note. That’s what I used. Crossing my fingers.) If you must use a glass pie plate, do not
preheat the baking sheet. Note, however,
that your crust will not be as crisp. This pie is best served the day it is
made.
 |
| THEIR PICTURE |
Blueberry Pie
Serves 8
6 cups blueberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and shredded
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice
pinch salt
1 recipe Double-Crust Pie Dough (*I made mine single crust)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Cook 3 cups blueberries in medium saucepan over medium heat,
mashing occasionally with potato masher to help release juices, until half of
berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and measures about 1 ½ cups,
about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Please shredded apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry.
Combine apple, cooked berry mixture, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, sugar,
tapioca starch, lemon zest and juice, and salt in large bowl. (*This is where I substituted 1 teaspoon
pectin for shredded apple.)
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place foil-lined rimmed
baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle
between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap.
Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch METAL pie plate, and
ease dough into plate. Remove remaining
plastic. Roll other disk of dough into
12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic. Remove top plastic. (The cookbook suggests making cookie-cutter
size holes in the top around a center hole. You don’t have to. *I made single
crust. Again, I messed up by not reading all the instructions and I was too
lazy to make another crust.)
Spread blueberry mixture evenly into dough-lined pie plate.
Gently invert top crust over filling and remove remaining plastic. Trim dough ½
inch beyond lip of pie plate, pinch dough edges together, and tuck under itself
to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough around edge using your fingers.
Brush pie with egg white.
Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake until crust is
light golden brown about 25 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, rotate baking sheet, and
continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30
to 40 minutes longer. Let pie cool on
wire rack to room temperature, about 4 hours.
Serve.
GLUTEN-FREE PIE CRUST
Why this recipe works:
Perfect pie dough has just the right balance of tenderness
and structure. The former comes from fat, the latter form the long protein
chains, called gluten, that form when flour mixes with water. Too little gluten, and the dough won’t stick
together.
Gluten-free flours are naturally low in protein. As our
first step, we swapped in our gluten-free flour blend for the flour in all the
pie dough recipes the test kitchen has developed over the years. We produced workable doughs, but an
all-butter dough (which includes sour cream for tenderness) had the necessary
richness to stand up to the starchiness of the gluten-free flour blend and was
clearly the best starting point. Although we weren’t surprised to find that the
dough was still too soft and lacked structure, we were taken aback by how tough
it was; on its own, the sour cream was not sufficient to tenderize a
gluten-free dough. We solved the structural problem easily with the addition of
a modest amount of xanthan gum, but flakiness and tenderness were still
elusive. In an effort to further tenderize our dough, we tested ingredients
that are known to tenderize: baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. Vinegar was the clear winner, producing a pie
crust that was not only tender, but also light and flaky. This pie dough can be prepared in advance and
refrigerated for 2 days; however , it is not sturdy enough to withstand
freezing.
(My SIDE note: make sure you roll this out to 12 inches. My
11 inches was not enough to create a nice edge. The plastic wrap tip is
amazing!)
 |
| THEIR PICTURE |
Double-Crust Pie
Dough
Makes enough for one 9-inch pie
5 tablespoons ice water
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons Gluten-free Flour Blend
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and
frozen for 10 minutes
Combine ice water, sour cream, and vinegar together in a
bowl. Set aside.
Process flour blend, sugar, salt, and xanthan gum in a food
processor until combined, about 5 seconds.
Scatter frozen butter over top and pulse mixture until butter is size of
large peas, about 10 pulses.
Pour half of the sour cream mixture over flour mixture and
pulse until incorporated, about 3 pulses.
Pour remaining sour cream mixture over flour mixture and pulse until
dough comes together, about 6 pulses.
(*Maybe my processor isn’t as strong as ATK’s, but it took about 30
pulses for my mixture to come together.)
Divide dough into 2 even pieces. Turn each piece of dough
onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into 5-inch disk. Wrap each piece
tightly in plastic and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Before rolling out dough,
let it sit on counter to soften slightly, about 15 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and
refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
(Note: A half recipe is truly dividing each ingredient in
half.)
ATK Gluten-free flour
blend
Makes 42 ounces, about 9 1/3 cups
4 1/2 cups plus 1/3
cup white rice flour
1 2/3 cups brown rice
flour
1 1/2 cups potato
starch
3/4 cup tapioca starch
3 tablespoons nonfat milk powder
Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl until well
combined. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months.
AND NOW FOR MY DISASTER PICTURE - WAIT FOR IT... Step by step first...LOL
 |
| Like I said, so pretty going in. |
|
 |
| To keep crust from getting too brown, you can cover with foil for second half of baking. |
AND NOW MY DISASTER PHOTO!
DON'T LAUGH. THE FILLING SPILLED OUT AND OVER.
THIS IS WHY IT NEEDED A TOP CRUST. OOF. BAD ME.
BUT IT TASTED GREAT SO DON'T BLAME ATK.
THAT'S WHY THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS AND I AM NOT.
 |
| I didn't show my guests the whole pie, only the result. Very tasty. Filling held together well. |
Have you made disasters that tasted good?
The How
Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen cookbook.
BUY LINK
The latest Cookbook Nook Mystery (#8), available for pre-order. Comes out April 23.
SAVOR THE MYSTERY!
A SOUFFLÉ OF SUSPICION, the 2nd French Bistro Mystery.
Can Mimi prove her chef innocent before the chef gets dusted?
A DEADLY ÉCLAIR, the 1st
French Bistro Mysteries, in all formats.
Can
Mimi clear her name before the killer turns up the heat?
SIFTING THROUGH CLUES, the 8th Cookbook Nook Mystery.
Sifting through the clues,
Jenna unearths any number of possible culprits, but she’ll have to cook up a
new way to catch the killer before her friend Pepper’s goose is cooked.
Click here to order.
-->
WREATH BETWEEN THE LINES, the 7th Cookbook Nook Mystery.
Jenna Hart is busy decking
the halls and ducking a killer
FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, the 7th Cheese
Shop Mystery by Avery Aames.
Finally
there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!
Click
to order.
GIRL ON THE RUN, a stand-alone
suspense.
When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare, Chessa Paxton must run for
her life...but will the truth set her free?
Click
to order
DAY OF SECRETS, a stand-alone
suspense
A
mother he thought was dead. A father he never knew. An
enemy that wants them dead.
Click
here to order
