Fresh Berry Slab Pie Food

MIXED BERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Unwrap the larger Slab Pastry Crust disk, and roll dough out on a lightly floured work surface into an 18- x 13-inch rectangle. Wrap dough around rolling pin; gently fit inside a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Turn edges under; crimp. Prick bottom and sides of dough with a fork. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 3- to 4-inch overhang around pan edges. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 10 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights. Return crust to oven; bake at 375°F for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Gently stir together berries, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Stir together granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, thyme, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle over berry mixture; stir gently to incorporate. Spoon berry mixture into prepared crust. Sprinkle evenly with cubed butter.
• Unwrap remaining smaller Slab Pastry Crust disk; roll dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a 12- x 6- x ¼-inch rectangle. Cut 15 (12-inch-long, 1/4-inch-wide) strips from dough rectangle. (Discard dough scraps, or reserve for another use.) Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl.
• Braid 3 dough strips together, keeping the braid as snug as possible. Carefully place dough braid crosswise on top of pie about 2 inches from 1 short side of pan. Brush top of crimped crust where dough braid overlaps with it, and press together to adhere. Brush top of dough braid with some of the egg mixture. Repeat process with remaining 12 dough strips and egg mixture, making 5 dough braids total, each spaced 2 to 3 inches apart on top of pie.
• Bake at 375°F until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes, covering crust edges with aluminum foil during final 15 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning, if needed. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely, about 1 hour.

FRESH BERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. Unroll pie crusts and stack one on top of the other on lightly floured surface. Roll to 17 x 12-inch rectangle. Fit crust into 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan, pressing into corners. Fold extra crust under, even with edges of pan; crimp edges. Prick bottom and sides of crust with fork.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack.
• In medium bowl, beat yogurt and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spoon into cooled baked crust. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until set.
• In large bowl, toss berries and strawberry glaze. Spoon berry mixture over cream cheese layer. Store in refrigerator.

FRESH BERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. Remove pie crusts from pouches. On lightly floured surface, unroll and stack crusts one on top of the other. Roll to 17x12-inch rectangle. Fit crust into ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, pressing onto corners. Fold extra crust even with edges of pan. Prick with fork. Crimp edges. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar and milk until smooth. Spread into crust-lined pan. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until set.
• Gently mix berries and strawberry glaze. Spoon berry mixture on top of cream cheese-topped pie crust. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

MIXED BERRY PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough into 2 portions so that 1 is slightly larger than the other. Shape each into a disk. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., For filling, in a large saucepan, whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, water and, if desired, cinnamon until smooth; add blueberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly., Preheat oven to 400°. Gently fold raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and lemon juice into blueberry mixture. On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger portion of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate. Add filling; dot with butter., Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; cut into 1/2-in.-wide strips. Arrange over filling in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to edge of bottom crust; flute edge. Bake 10 minutes. , Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

BLUEBERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• In a large, flat-bottomed bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter cubes and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour; do not smash or smear the butter. Scrape butter off the pastry blender during the mixing process and continue mixing. (If butter is softening too fast, put the bowl in the refrigerator until butter firms up, 2-5 minutes.) Continue cutting, working quickly, until butter is broken down and looks like a coarse crumble with only a few larger pieces.
• Combine vinegar with water and ice; you'll use up to 1½ cups of this liquid in the pie dough, a tablespoon at a time. Begin by sprinkling about 8 tablespoons of liquid over the flour mixture; use a bench scraper or your hands to incorporate until the mixture begins to come together. Sprinkle in 8 more tablespoons of liquid and continue the mixing process. Squeeze a fistful of dough: if it holds, like wet sand, it's ready. If it falls apart, add 1-2 more tablespoons of liquid at a time, squeezing the dough to check if it holds. Bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of liquid as necessary; dough will look shaggy. Knead in the bowl just until incorporated.
• Turn dough onto a work surface and use a bench scraper to divide dough into two equal pieces. Shape into flat disks and wrap in plastic; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen up to 1 month, tightly wrapped.
• Generously butter a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Dust a large work surface and tapered French rolling pin with flour. Roll out 1 disc of chilled pie dough into a rectangle by rolling it in an "X," diagonally, for even stretching. (If dough is softening too fast at any point in the rolling process, chill in the refrigerator until firm, 2-5 minutes.) Once the dough has been thinned out, switch to a straight French rolling pin and continue rolling the dough until it's a rectangle of even thickness, 3-4 inches larger than the baking sheet. Fit the dough into the baking sheet by gently folding in half, then in half again. Align the creases squarely in the middle of the pan, then unfold the dough so it's centered in the pan. There should be a 1-inch dough overhang on all sides. (If necessary, it's okay to stretch the dough gently.) Repeat the rolling and shaping process with top crust dough to a 17" x 13" rectangle. Invert a rimmed baking sheet and spread the dough on top. Refrigerate both sheets while assembling the filling, 20 minutes.
• Filling: Taste your blueberries first. They can vary from really sweet to really tart which will affect how much sugar is added; add or take out up to ¼ cup sugar to adjust sweetness. In a small bowl, mix shredded apple with lemon juice. In a large bowl, combine both sugars, Angostura bitters, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and ground arrowroot. Add the blueberries, crushing about half of them with your hands; mix well to combine, making sure no spices remain at the bottom of the bowl.
• Preheat oven to 425 F. Remove the chilled dough sheets; set the top dough aside. Transfer the filling into the dough-lined baking sheet, patting it down to make sure there are no gaps. Use the round pastry cutter to punch random holes into the top dough, 2-3 inches apart, to create a polka dot effect; don't get too close to the edges. (Save the pastry circles to make crust cookies!) Place the top dough sheet squarely over the filling, then seal the top and bottom crusts by tucking and pinching excess dough under the bottom crust. Seal again by pressing circumference of crust with your thumbs.
• Brush egg wash evenly over the top crust, and sprinkle with raw sugar. Pie will bake for a total of 1 hour. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven until crust is set and beginning to brown, 20-25 minutes. Lower heat to 375 F, move the pie to the center oven rack, and continue to bake until crust is a deep golden brown and juices are bubbling throughout, about 30-35 minutes longer. Allow pie to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into it, 1-2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

PEACH-BERRY RHUBARB SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt until well combined. Add 1/3 cup butter and the shortening, then cut in with a pastry blender until flour appears crumbly and no crumbs are larger than pea size. Gradually add water, one tablespoon at a time, tossing thoroughly with fork after each addition until dough sticks together. Dough should be only slightly moist and should still retain a crumbly appearance until pressed together between fingers. Place mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish and flatten to bottom, pressing dough halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush over crust using a pastry brush. Immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
• Make the filling. Peel and slice two of the peaches and place into a medium bowl. Add strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and rhubarb. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon flour and 2 tablespoons sugar, then pour over fruit and toss until fruit is evenly coated. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, add remaining peaches (peeled and sliced), cinnamon, butter, corn syrup, honey, lemon jice, orange juice, and sugar. Begin cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly until juices form. Mix corn starch with 1 teaspoon of water and gradually pour into mixture while stirring constantly. Allow mixture to come to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens. Once thickened, stir constantly until the liquid portion of the filling sticks to the spoon when removed from the pan. It should almost have the appearance of cooled pie filling. Remove from heat and add remaining fruit, stirring juices into flour mixture before adding to the filling. Lightly stir to combine and set aside.
• Place empty pie crust in the oven on the middle rack and bake until the butter is melted and the cinnamon and sugar appear to have absorbed into the crust.
• In the meantime, prepare the streusel. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together until crumbly and all dry ingredients appear a bit moist. Set aside.
• Remove crust from the oven and top evenly with pie filling. Cover with the streusel, paying special attention to the sides as the filling tends to bubble up over the topping along the edges. Bake on center rack for approximately 45 minutes, or until crust appears golden and streusel is crunchy. Remove from oven and cool, then slice into 12 pieces.