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baby berry pies

July 3, 2016 Amy Valle

yesterday the neighbors were playing the star spangled banner on saxophone

which...

inspired the patriot in me to run to the store and mess around with berries and pie all day

pie is lovely, don't you think? 

cake is fun/celebratory but pie is lovely

pie is who i want to be when i grow up

unfortunately, i've had some bad experiences with pie crust

i think i end up rushing the process 

and naturally get a bad result

but this time, i was just making it for myself 

like not an event or party or anything

so i had the opportunity to mess around w/different ingredients, take my time, dance around to my jams

(my favorite day)

i made 2 pie crusts- one w/vodka, one without

i read about cook's illustrated foolproof pie dough recipe which uses vodka + shortening + butter

but i don't use shortening so i doubled up on butter instead

it was fine- obvs. i can't really speak to the actual recipe since i didn't use shortening

but for some reason i liked the one without vodka better

the texture seemed a bit flakier + the butter flavor felt more prevalent + it was less sticky to work with

so that's the one i'm posting

found it on smitten kitchen's site-- i trust her, you should too

i believe pastry might be my new thing 

i like the challenge of it and am ready to step up my game

my colleague brought me this french pastry from village baking co the other day

first, i died a little bit, because she thought of me

second, i've never tasted anything like it

                            //  she talked it up quite a bit, so i was basically set up to be disappointed but NO

this pastry is what life is all about

enough to make me drop everything and go to pastry school in france

which, yeah, doesn't take much convincing

but i kind of had this moment of like-- what is this femme waiting for?

kouign-amann

is what they call this brilliance

originated in the brittany region of france

40% dough 30 % butter 30 % sugar

lots of exquisite flaky, buttery, layers to peel and saveur

there is also this caramelized sugar throughout it

subtle but definitely there, just enough

you eat this slowly with great care + thoughtfulness

you don't rush it or you miss the whole point

and possibly make yourself sick

if we're honest, kouign-amann is too good for you 

... 

how did my 4th of july post turn into me glorifying france again? geez, so predictable

my point

pastry is fascinating 

don't rush 

happy independence

XX amy

MIXED BERRY PIE

tips

whisk together flour, salt, sugar

dice butter into small pieces // put back in fridge to chill back up // cut butter into flour mixture w/fork + knife or pastry cutter // keep chunks uneven and thick throughout-- you absolutely want to see the butter pockets in the dough 

cut dough in half // wrap up with saran wrap // flatten into a disc // chill for at least an hour or longer 

 

pie dough ingredients (smitten kitchen)

flour, 2.5 c. // 315 g.
unsalted butter, cold AF, 1 c.
salt, 1 tsp
sugar, 1 Tbsp

 

egg, 1 ct, beaten

 

BERRY PIE FILLING

tips

grab a medium saucepan, bring sugar, corn starch, and a little water (1/4 c.) to a boil // add blueberries + allow them to break down a bit ~ 2 min. or so // then add remaining fruit and remove from heat

 

 

ingredients

diced strawberries, 1.5 c.
blueberries, 1 c.
blackberries, 1 c.
raspberries, 1 c.
sugar, 1 c.
cornstarch, 1/4 c.
sprinkle of salt

 

assembly + such

preheat oven to 400F

once chilled, roll out dough right before using, you want to keep it cold

once you fit the dough into pie dishes, stick back into freezer to firm up 

put chilled berry filling into pie dishes // decorate the tops w/ extra pastry however you would like

brush tops w/ egg + sprinkle with sugar

throw back into the freezer right before popping into the oven, you know, for good measure

bake at 400F for 30-40 min. 

 

 

 

 

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