Pies + Tarts

Rhubarb Blueberry Apple Pie

Rhubarb Blueberry Apple Pie with Ice Cream | The Vanilla Bean Blog | Sarah Kieffer
Last week I received my copy of The Homemade Flour Cookbook by Erin Alderson in the mail. I’ve been a fan of Erin’s site Naturally Ella for a long time, and last September had the pleasure of meeting her (and photographing her wedding). Erin is a hardworking, go-getting woman, and one of the most generous souls here in blogland. I’ve been terribly excited about her book.

The premise of the book is exploring ‘the different ways to grind flour including electric and non-electric grinders, food processors, blenders, and even coffee grinders, making it easy for any do-it-yourself homemaker to have fresh flour whenever needed.’ The flours range from barley and einkorn, to gluten-free grains like quinoa and corn, and even legumes: chickpeas, lentils, and beans all are used. Erin explains the different ways to grind them, and has a vast array of recipes for all kinds of eaters.

I had a pile of rhubarb in our garden, and a pint of blueberries that were on their way out, so Erin’s Whole Wheat Rhubarb Blueberry Apple Pie immediately jumped out at me. It’s a jem, and one I will look forward to making each summer.
Rhubarb Blueberry Apple Pie | The Vanilla Bean Blog | Sarah Kieffer
(Also, A few things:)

Sara had her baby. I can’t get over these gorgeous and amazing photographs.

A little documentary by Flight of the Conchords. Don’t know how I missed this!

I love this song by PHOX.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway! You could win a copy of Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book, a year subscription to Pure Green Magazine, a bottle of Lavender Extract from Hatchery, or a copy of The New Artisan Bread in Five

Plate with Pie Remnants | The Vanilla Bean Blog | Sarah Kieffer
Rhubarb-Blueberry-Apple Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

I did make a couple of changes to Erin’s recipe – her crust calls for just soft whole wheat flour, but I made mine with half all-purpose and half whole-wheat flour (3/4 cup of each). Her pie is also a straight up rhubarb pie, and if you’d like to go that route, use 6 cups of rhubarb, and omit the blueberries and apple. Also, whenever I bake pies I use Cook Illustrated’s trick of preheating a baking sheet on the bottom rack, and baking the pie on that, to help crisp up the bottom crust. So I started my oven at 450, baked the pie on the hot baking sheet for 30 minutes, lowered the temperature to 375 and rotated the sheet pan, and then baked the pie about 20 minutes more. If you are grinding wheat berries yourself, look for soft wheat berries in the bulk bins at your local co-op. (Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten and thus results in a finer or crumbly texture. See this for a little more information).

1 1/2 cups (180 g) soft whole wheat flour (see note)
2 tablespoons (26 g) organic cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup (112 g) cold butter, cubed
2-3 tablespoons water (25-45 ml) cold water

filling:
4 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 cups blueberries
1 apple, peeled and grated
1/2 cup (100 g) organic cane sugar
1/2 cup (115g) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (60 g)soft wheat flour
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a good pinch of salt

egg wash
2 tablespoons (26 g) organic cane sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Cut in the cubed butter with your hands or a pastry blender until the dough is in pea-sized pieces. Stir in 2 tablespoons of cold water, and add more as needed to bring the dough together. Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and divide it into 2 balls. Form each ball into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes, and up to 2 days.

In a large bowl, combined the rhubarb, blueberries, grated apple, sugars, flour, lemon juice,  cinnamon, and salt. Toss together until the fruit is coated well. Set aside while the dough chills.

On a floured surface, roll out each dough ball into an 11-12 inch circle. Drape one round of dough into a 9-inch pie pan, being careful not to stretch or tear it. Pour in the filling, and top with the remaining crust. Crimp the edges together. Cut an x into the top of the pie (or cut out several small circles), brush the top with the egg wash, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Let cool on a wire rack at least 4 hours before slicing.
Rhubarb Blueberry Apple Pie | The Vanilla Bean Blog | Sarah Kieffer
Rhubarb Blueberry Apple Pie with Ice Cream | The Vanilla Bean Blog | Sarah Kieffer

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  • Reply
    plasterers bristol
    Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 10:08 am

    My all time favorite. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.

    Simon

  • Reply
    Jessica Robinson
    Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 8:23 pm

    These flavors sound like a wonderful combination!

  • Reply
    Hope
    Monday, January 12, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    This Pie looked so beautiful, it inspired me to post about one similar. Changed the crust slightly and made the filling an appleberry mix. Absolutely delicious.
    Thanks for the inspiration!

  • Reply
    Pierate
    Friday, September 26, 2014 at 7:48 am

    Wow that pie looks amazing! Would love to try this for Pierate, where we spend our whole time reviewing pies!

  • Reply
    perdredupoidsetkilos
    Thursday, August 21, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    Just seing this makes me salivates,yummy!!!

  • Reply
    Janet
    Friday, August 15, 2014 at 4:10 am

    Made this pie…absolutely wonderful. So flavoursome. Ingredients such as fresh blueberries, rhubarb, and green apple are a fabulous combo. The crust was like a biscuit base. I love the wholemeal flour. Makes a huge difference to the flavour. So glad I came across this recipe. So superior to any others I have tried.

    • Reply
      Sarah
      Monday, August 18, 2014 at 1:35 pm

      Janet – I’m so glad you liked it! I do really like this pie crust, too. 🙂

  • Reply
    Simi Jois
    Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 10:31 pm

    Beautiful photography ! Love the pie

  • Reply
    robe de plage
    Monday, June 23, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    thanks for tip with the baking sheet ! love rhubarb and blueberry, never tried that!

  • Reply
    Hannah Jade
    Friday, June 20, 2014 at 4:13 am

    I’ve been dreaming about this pie ever since you posted it – I love packing as many flavours in at once as possible and cinnamon is always welcome. A must-make for sure!

  • Reply
    Hilary
    Sunday, June 15, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    I just discovered your blog – first of all, this looks amazing.. and I want to hunt down some rhubarb just for this.. and strawberry rhubarb jam.. but anyways, I love the thought behind your blog! Plus it’s always fun to see how much others find so much joy in the kitchen. So thank you!

  • Reply
    PassTheKnife
    Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 8:53 pm

    Beautiful photos. Your crust looks perfect, great job!

  • Reply
    kristie
    Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    Wow, this looks so perfect!

  • Reply
    sue/the view from great island
    Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 10:22 am

    Stunning, Sarah!

  • Reply
    Anita Menon
    Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 12:53 am

    Hello from Bahrain! Love your blog. I have been a silent lurker, but the pictures of this pie made me speak up. It is gorgeous! Lovely giveaway!

  • Reply
    Five O'clock Shallots
    Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    The pie looks delicious and the photos, as usual, are beautiful!

  • Reply
    Yummy
    Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 9:26 am

    I really love it 🙂 Yummy Desserts

  • Reply
    Lucrecer
    Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 7:28 am

    What a beautiful pie.

  • Reply
    anna @ annamayeveryday
    Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 7:39 am

    Oh that pie looks so good – beautiful photographs too!

  • Reply
    sabine
    Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 4:39 am

    thanks for tip with the baking sheet ! love rhubarb and blueberry, never tried that!

  • Reply
    Christin
    Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 2:25 am

    Wow, that looks delicious!

  • Reply
    Carol at Wild Goose Tea
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    Fruit pies are everybody’s favorite. This has to be out of sight. I have never mixed blueberries with rhubarb. Photos as mesmerizing!

  • Reply
    Ali | Gimme Some Oven
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    So beautiful! I can’t wait to get a copy of this cookbook! 🙂

  • Reply
    steph
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    gosh. your photos sarah. so, so dreamy. can i hang out in your kitchen for a while? 😉

  • Reply
    J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 11:52 am

    Have just started baking with different flours (like quinoa, nut flour, etc.) and love the results so far. Very cool idea for a cookbook and the crust here looks perfect.

  • Reply
    Sini | my blue&white kitchen
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 9:40 am

    This pie makes my mouth water! I’ve been enjoying Erin’s work for quite a while already and her cookbook sounds as wonderful as her blog. Oh and thank you for that pie baking trick from Cook’s Illustrated. Will definitely try it!

    Wishing you a sunny June week,
    Sini

  • Reply
    yossy
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 9:09 am

    Thanks so much, Sarah!! That pie looks so wonderful. Love those PHOX kids! We met them a couple of years ago at sxsw and it has been so fun to watch them grow.

  • Reply
    Tieghan
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 7:56 am

    So pretty! I love all the fruit you packed in too!

  • Reply
    Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 5:24 am

    ahhhhhhh I don’t know how I missed that Flight of the Concords doc either!! THANK YOU! And this pie is going right from your blog to my kitchen to my oven to my mouth. Love it.

  • Reply
    Iris - Writer/Photographer
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 4:46 am

    This looks absolutely GLORIOUS. And I’m not even a fan of apple pie!
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  • Reply
    Rochelle @ Oh So Sweet Baker
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 4:29 am

    This pie is beautiful. I love the colourful purple stains the blueberry has left

  • Reply
    Kathryn
    Monday, June 9, 2014 at 3:39 am

    I’m so excited to get my copy of this book – I love Erin’s work so much and every recipe I’ve seen from it has sounded so delicious. You’ve captured this pie beautifully Sarah!

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