Gluten-Free Fresh Strawberry Pie
By Sara MayerPublished on May 24, 2019
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour cooling and 2 hours chilling
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
For the fruit pectin, we recommend both Sure-Jell for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes and Ball RealFruit Low or No-Sugar-Needed Pectin. The pie is at its best after 2 or 3 hours of chilling; the glaze becomes softer and wetter as it continues to chill, and the crust will become soggy if the pie is refrigerated for more than 5 hours. Serve with whipped cream. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the pie dough.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch pie plate, and ease dough into plate. Remove remaining plastic and trim dough 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate. Tuck overhanging dough under itself to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge using your fingers.
- Cover dough loosely in plastic and freeze until chilled and firm, about 15 minutes. Remove plastic and bake until crust is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pie plate halfway through baking. Let crust cool completely on wire rack, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
- Select 6 ounces (170 grams) misshapen, underripe, or otherwise unattractive berries, halving those that are large; you should have about 1½ cups. Process strawberries in food processor to smooth puree, 20 to 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed (you should have about 3/4 cup puree).
- Whisk sugar, cornstarch, pectin, and salt together in medium saucepan. Stir in berry puree, making sure to scrape corners of pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with heatproof rubber spatula, and bring to full boil. Boil, scraping bottom and sides of pan to prevent scorching, for 2 minutes to ensure that cornstarch is fully cooked (mixture will appear frothy when it first reaches boil, then will darken and thicken with further cooking). Transfer glaze to large bowl and stir in lemon juice. Let cool until slightly warm.
- Meanwhile, pick over remaining strawberries and measure out 2 pounds (907 grams) of most attractive ones; halve or quarter any berries larger than 1½ inches. Add strawberries to bowl with glaze and fold in gently with rubber spatula until evenly coated. Scoop strawberry mixture into pie shell, piling into mound. If any cut strawberry sides face up on top, turn them face down. If necessary, rearrange berries so that holes are filled and mound looks attractive. Refrigerate pie until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour cooling and 2 hours chillingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
To make the glazy filling that would hold our ripe berries in place, we first simmered pureed strawberries with sugar and cornstarch. We tossed this thickened puree with whole, fresh berries and piled them into a baked pie crust, but after a short time the filling became a gloppy mess atop a soggy crust. Increasing the amount of cornstarch dulled the fresh strawberry flavor. Gelatin produced a bouncy filling, while arrowroot and tapioca produced overly thin fillings. Next, we tried tossing the berries with jarred strawberry jam. This offered a reasonably thick texture, but the sweetness was cloying. The solution: Make our own “jam” from fresh berries, sugar, and pectin so that we could control the sweetness. This version was better, but pectin alone was still too firm. We remembered the looser texture of our original cornstarch test and decided to combine the two. This method produced just the right supple, lightly clingy glaze that coated the strawberries without sogging out the crust. To account for any imperfect strawberries, the ingredient list calls for more berries than you will need. Make sure the strawberries are at room temperature and dried well so the glaze will adhere properly.
Before You Begin
For the fruit pectin, we recommend both Sure-Jell for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes and Ball RealFruit Low or No-Sugar-Needed Pectin. The pie is at its best after 2 or 3 hours of chilling; the glaze becomes softer and wetter as it continues to chill, and the crust will become soggy if the pie is refrigerated for more than 5 hours. Serve with whipped cream. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the pie dough.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch pie plate, and ease dough into plate. Remove remaining plastic and trim dough 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate. Tuck overhanging dough under itself to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge using your fingers.
- Cover dough loosely in plastic and freeze until chilled and firm, about 15 minutes. Remove plastic and bake until crust is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pie plate halfway through baking. Let crust cool completely on wire rack, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
- Select 6 ounces (170 grams) misshapen, underripe, or otherwise unattractive berries, halving those that are large; you should have about 1½ cups. Process strawberries in food processor to smooth puree, 20 to 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed (you should have about 3/4 cup puree).
- Whisk sugar, cornstarch, pectin, and salt together in medium saucepan. Stir in berry puree, making sure to scrape corners of pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with heatproof rubber spatula, and bring to full boil. Boil, scraping bottom and sides of pan to prevent scorching, for 2 minutes to ensure that cornstarch is fully cooked (mixture will appear frothy when it first reaches boil, then will darken and thicken with further cooking). Transfer glaze to large bowl and stir in lemon juice. Let cool until slightly warm.
- Meanwhile, pick over remaining strawberries and measure out 2 pounds (907 grams) of most attractive ones; halve or quarter any berries larger than 1½ inches. Add strawberries to bowl with glaze and fold in gently with rubber spatula until evenly coated. Scoop strawberry mixture into pie shell, piling into mound. If any cut strawberry sides face up on top, turn them face down. If necessary, rearrange berries so that holes are filled and mound looks attractive. Refrigerate pie until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve.
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