Strawberry Pie (with thick strawberry pie filling)
This deliciously flaky Strawberry Pie is the perfect spring-summer treat! This strawberry pie recipe makes use of all the fresh, juicy strawberries that are abundant in the grocery stores and farmer’s markets this time of year! Say goodbye to runny strawberry pies, because this recipe has uses a special thickening agent to create a strawberry pie that is perfectly thick and jammy on the inside, has a beautiful smooth mouthfeel, and is full of fresh strawberry flavor!
How to a perfect flaky pie crust
THE INGREDIENTS
To create the pie dough, cold butter and cold water are absolute musts. Similar to making scones or biscuits, the reason the butter needs to be cold is so that once it hits the hot oven, the water within the butter quickly evaporates, leaving behind little air pockets. These little air pockets are what creates that flaky texture! The reason for the cold liquid is so that it doesn’t warm up the other ingredients, like the butter.
Another ingredient that I use in my pie doughs is vodka. Yes you heard me right – vodka! By using vodka, instead of water, it helps to inhibit gluten formation, and as we know, too much gluten = a tough final product! The reason for this is because water activates gluten, so by replacing the water with vodka it reduces the water content by 40% (vodka is 60% water, 40% ethanol). However, you need to be careful not to add too much vodka, as it may effect the flavor. Therefore, I like to use a 50% water and 50% vodka ratio!
If you do not consume alcohol, or do not have it on hand, just substitute the vodka for the same amount of cold water!
THE TECHNIQUE
The key to perfect pie dough is to handle it as little as possible. Handling the dough too much can result in the butter melting, which will create a dense dough. As well, overhandling the dough by kneading it too much will result in excess gluten formation, and a subsequent tough dough. It is important to only knead the dough until it just begins to form into ball. After the dough comes together, separate it in 2, then press each into a disk shape, and then place it into plastic wrap, and then into the fridge for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, remove one of the doughs, let it warm up slightly on the counter for 5 minutes, then begin rolling it out! Try to aim for a perfect circle that is ¼” thick, making sure that you turn the dough every so often to ensure it isn’t sticking. When rolled out, place into the pie plate (the easiest way to do this is by rolling the dough back up onto your rolling pin and then unrolling it overtop of the pie plate), trim and tuck the edges.
For the top crust, roll the second disc out, the same way you did with the first. Now, you can either just place this top crust on after the pie has been filled and score it, or you can do a lattice design by cutting eight 1½” thick strips and assembling them on top of the filled pie in a lattice formation.
Arrowroot Powder vs Corn Starch
Pie made without cornstarch?! I know, I know – it sounds crazy, but trust me on this! When I developed this Strawberry Pie recipe, I tried all sorts of quantities of cornstarch, and it ALWAYS came out loose and soupy! The texture was rather chalk like as well. Overall, the cornstarch just didn’t seem to be working.
Now why is this? After some digging, I found out the corn starch is broken down in the presence of too much acid. Both strawberries and orange juice are full of citric acid. This large amount of acid essentially rendered the cornstarch ineffective, leading to a soupy strawberry pie!
I tried a few other thickeners, as well, and the best of the best ended up being arrowroot powder! Arrowroot powder provided that perfect gel-like texture to the strawberry pie and left no detectable taste or texture in the pie! Perfect, if you ask me!
How Much Sugar?
The thing with fresh fruit, such as strawberries, is that their sweetness is dependent on the harvesting season! So, strawberries that are picked in prime strawberry season (i.e. the summer) will typically be sweeter strawberries picked any other time of year. That being said, if you are using out-of-season strawberries, you may have to increase the amount of sugar you use to make up for it! I used ¾ cup sugar, but feel free to up it to 1 cup.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Pie (with thick pie filling)
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 3 cups (360g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly†
- 6 tbsp (75g) White Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 ½ cups (341g) Cold Unsalted Butter,, cubed
- 6 tbsp (90g) Cold Water,, plus more if needed
- 6 tbsp (90g) Cold Vodka
- 1 Egg + 2 tsp Water,, for egg wash
- Coarse Sugar,, for sprinkling
Strawberry Pie Filling
- 5 cups (800g) Hulled Quartered Strawberries
- 3/4 cup (150g) White Sugar
- 3 ½ tbsp (28g) Arrowroot Powder
- Zest of 1 Orange
- Juice of 1/2 Orange
Instructions
Making the Pie Crust
- Mix together vodka and water into a small measuring cup, then set aside in the fridge. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add in cold butter cubes, and work the butter into flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work the butter until it is crumbly and about the size of peas.
- Slowly drizzle in vodka-water while simultaneously tossing with a fork to combine. After all the vodka-water has been added, knead the dough a few times inside the bowl until a shaggy but stable dough forms. If the dough doesn’t come together, slowly add more water until a shaggy dough forms.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each dough, as best as you can, into a disk shape, then place them both into separate freezer bags, then into the fridge for 2 hours to chill.
Filling and Baking
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove doughs from fridge and place onto counter for 5 minute to warm-up a bit. Remove each dough from their respective freezer bag and place onto a well-floured work surface.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling by adding all the ‘strawberry pie filling’ ingredients into a bowl and tossing together until everything is well coated. Set aside.
- Roll the bottom crust ¼” thick and about 11-12” in diameter. Transfer and lightly press it into a pie pan. Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan.
- Pour the strawberry pie filling into the bottom pie crust. Set aside.
- Repeat rolling out with the top crust, then cut 1 ½” strips using a pizza cutter. Place the strips over the filling in a lattice formation. Trim edges and pinch with bottom crust. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Place the pie on top of a baking sheet and then place into the oven, and bake for 35-45 minutes. When done, the crust should be nicely golden and the filling should be a bit jiggly.
