Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Relatively Simple • Absolutely Divine
There seems to be some argument as to whether or not man can live by bread alone. But I’ll bet you’ve never heard that accusation leveled against strawberry rhubarb pie. There’s a reason for this.
Think about it. You’ve got fruit – the strawberries. Then there’s rhubarb, a vegetable, well known for its high quality fiber. Your dairy group is well represented in the crust (if made correctly), in the form of copious quantities of butter. Plus you have, of course, grains. You could even easily sneak some whole grains into the crust without losing anyone.
So you have fruit, veggies, dairy, grains and fiber all brought together, miraculously, into the most sublime taste experience imaginable. If it hasn’t been done yet, I would like to officially nominate strawberry rhubarb pie for the title of The Ultimate Food.
In this video, Denyce takes us through her process for making a heavenly pie worthy of this title.
Nominations are now closed!
Big tip: This is no ordinary run of the mill tip. This is huge. Save some of the juices from the cooked strawberries and rhubarb and use as a topping over your favorite vanilla ice cream. If the pie didn’t finish you off, this surely will.
Pie Ingredients:
4 ½ c rhubarb chopped to about ½ inch
1 ½ c strawberries
2 sticks (1 c) cold butter
2 c plus 1 Tbs. all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
4 Tbs ice cold water
¾ c sugar
3 Tbs corn starch
1 egg for egg wash
Cook for 15 minutes at 400° then 45 minutes at 350°.
A fitting tribute to Spring, this poem was submitted to Prairie Home Companion’s March 31st, 2007 Spring Lyric Contest and read on the air by Garrison Keillor.
By Sandra Justice of Greely, CO
Sing high, sing low;
Gone is the snow.
Bring on the rhubarb
And pastry dough.
Nutmeg, a pinch,
Sugar a cup,
Strawberries too
Sweeten it up.
Fruity, juicy,
Tangy bliss —
Who could wish
For more than this?
Mama’s tonic
Dad’s delight,
I could eat it
Every night.
I live up north.
The reason why?
I gotta have
My rhubarb pie.
I only hope
That when I die
Someone’s above
Baking rhubarb pie.
Sing out, my dear,
Raise a cheer.
‘Cause spring has come,
And rhubarb’s here.
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Hi Eric….Marie just watched the pie video, and she really enjoyed it. When the pie came out of the oven, she laughed,, and said ” I don’t feel so bad!” Her last strawberry rhubarb pie ran all over the place as well! So, the old guy suggested FOUR tbls cornstarch! Which she will do next time…she appreciated seeing how someone else bakes, since she has been baking since the mid forties! She did get one tip, next time she will put a pizza pan under the pie!
Good call on the extra corn starch, Doug! Denyce is delighted someone enjoyed the video.
Thanks to Jean for this tip…
“I have a small suggestion about transferring a
bottom crust to the pie pan. I remove the waxed paper
on top of the rolled-out dough and place the pie pan
on the dough. Then I lift the bottom sheet of waxed
paper and turn it upside-down so the dough falls into
the pie pan.”
Hey guys, I watched the whole thing and really enjoyed seeing Denni make a pie from start to finish. And of course I loved the scene at the end!
This video was extremely charming! It’s fascinating to see another baker at work, since I kept expecting Denyce to chill her fingertips in that icy water. I kind of cringed when she used her warm palms to press down on the dough (for fear the crust would get tough.)
I can hardly wait to put all your good advice to use.
My wife Betty is putting everything together according to your great instructions. Just thought you might be interested….my mom, who is 94 years old, told me that for years what we call as rubbard was called “Pie Plant.” As a kid, she said that was all that it was called. Thing is, did they call the pie “Strawberry, Pie Plant Pie?” Another thing, if you haven’t listened to Prarie Home Companion, you need to! Hope the pie turns out! Can’t wait to taste that “Pie Plant/strawberry Pie!”
That is interesting. “Pie Plant” seems a lot more fitting.
I love the way you left a lot of your own anecdotes and extra tips in the video, and especially when the fresh loaf of bread came out of the oven. That’s what makes this site so great. I can’t wait to make this pie sometime in the spring. Thanks.
That was a lovely video. I feel like I’ve learned to bake pie all over again. The videos on breadtopia are done with such honest charm that I am drawn into the process and feel as though I were standing there chatting with the bakers. I’ve baked quite a lot of no-knead sourdough bread with inspiration from your site, and now am excited to bake a golden brown stawberry/rhubard pie very soon. That’s an excellent tip about using the left-over juice on home-made icecream. I bet I can turn it into something suitable to sourdough pancakes too!
P.S. Vivaldi rocks!
Denyce:
What size food processor is required to make the pie crust you showed in the video? I’m guessing7 cups.
Video and info was great. Please send a piece from your next pie! It looked fantastic.
JAM
Denyce:
Can a KitchenAid Stand Mixer be used in lieu of the Food Processor to make the dough and if so can the butter be added cold as you have shown? I’m not sure the butter would mix in the same.
JAM
The food processor I used was a standard one, between 7 and 8 cups. (I had to go check, since I never really looked at that before.)
Thanks for the compliment on the pie. It WAS good. Unfortunately, it could get quite messy if I tried to change pie reality into virtual reality by sending a piece via email. Probably would upset the entire balance of the universe. Therefore, I heartily encourage you to bake your own when the strawberries and rhubarb come up this summer!
–Denyce
I have a KitchenAid stand mixer and love it for doing all kinds of mixing. But I prefer to use the food processor for pie crusts because it uses knives to cut the dough very quickly and therefore develops very little gluten to keep the crust flaky.
If you do not have a food processor, you can mix it by hand by using 1 sharp knife in each hand and cutting through the butter and flour over and over, moving the blades against each other in a sort of scissor-like fashion. This takes longer, though, so make sure the butter is very cold when you start.
Or… just go ahead and give the stand mixer a try. Do use cold butter, and just try not to over-mix it. It is Ok if it is crumbly before you add the water.
Hope that is not too confusing.
–Denyce
another project to undertake!. That pie looked lovely. Thanks for the inspiration
Wow great video, great looking pie
Dear Denyce,
I just finished checking in with your pie video for the 3rd or 4th time as I love making rhubarb pie and always need your reminders to make it perfect. I LOVE the video and all the comments and plan to enter a pie in the the county fair next year. I live in northern Va and rhubarb grows pretty well here, though not as well as in in the midwest. Also, very few people aound here know about rhubarb and its unique flavor, so I hope to win something some day. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and actually showing me how to make that perfect crust.!
You guys
I meant to end my email by saying ,”You guys are great.!”
Your Strawberry/Rhubarb pie recipe turned out Great. My wife could not believe I could bake a pie like that. Now do you have a recipe for Apple pie?
Marty
Hi Marty,
Thanks for the nice feedback.
Maybe I can convince Denyce to let me shoot a video of her making her English Apple Pie. It’s pretty awesome and simple (for her).