Spelt Sour Cherry Pie

Spelt Sour Cherry Pie
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A classic sour cherry pie recipe updated with whole grain spelt flour. The nutty taste of the spelt is a nice complement to the cherries and adds a deeper golden color. Spelt is an ancient form of wheat. It is lower in gluten than regular flour, which also helps keep the crust flaky.Recipe courtesy of West of the Loop
Prep Time
45
minutes
Cook Time
60
minutes
Servings
8
servings
Spelt Sour Cherry Pie
Total time: 1.73 hours
Ingredients
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • 2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted european-style butter (at least 82% butterfat), cut into cubes, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1/2 cup ice water
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1 tsp flour
  • 1.75 lbs. (about 5 cups) pitted sour cherries (if frozen, thawed and drained)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon cream
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • demerara or turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Directions
  1. Combine the flours, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
  2. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
  3. Combine the ice water and vinegar and add six tablespoons of the liquid to the ingredients in the food processor.
  4. Pulse several times until combined.
  5. Pinch a bit of the dough to see if it holds together.
  6. If it is still too dry, add more of the liquid, one tablespoon at a time, until it holds together.
  7. Remove the dough to a bowl or a well-floured board.
  8. Knead the dough until it forms a ball.
  9. Divide the dough into two and wrap each half well in plastic wrap.
  10. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least a half-hour but preferably overnight.
  11. Once the dough is well-chilled, remove one of the balls of dough from the refrigerator.
  12. (If the dough was chilled for longer than thirty minutes, allow it to soften for ten minutes before rolling it out.)
  13. Prior to rolling out the dough, strike it with your rolling pin to flatten it further.
  14. Liberally dust a pastry board or mat and a rolling pin with flour.
  15. Roll the dough out, rotating it and turning it frequently and adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, until it is larger than the pie plate and between ¼ and ⅛ of an inch thick.
  16. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with melted or softened butter.
  17. Carefully center the pie dough in the plate and press it into the bottom and sides.
  18. Trim or fold over any excess dough around the edges.
  19. Sprinkle sugar-flour mixture over the inside of the bottom crust to prevent it from getting soggy.
  20. Place pie pan in refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the filling.
  21. Combine the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, tapioca starch, salt, vanilla paste or extract and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to combine.
  22. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and refrigerate while you prepare the top crust.
  23. Roll out the second ball of dough in the same manner as the first.
  24. To create a lattice top, cut even strips of dough using a paring knife or fluted pastry wheel.
  25. Lay out strips of dough horizontally, using the shorter strips on the edges and the longest strips for the middle, on top of the pie filling.
  26. Fold back every other strip and lay down one vertical strip of dough in the middle.
  27. Unfold the horizontal strips.
  28. (The vertical strip should now be woven over and under the horizontal strips.)
  29. Fold back the strips you did not fold the first time and lay down a second vertical strip of dough.
  30. Unfold.
  31. The second vertical strip should now be woven and under the opposite horizontals strips.
  32. Repeat with remaining strips of dough working from the center of the pie out to create a woven lattice.
  33. Trim any excess that hangs over the edge and then crimp together the edges of the bottom and top crusts.
  34. Preheat oven to 400 and refrigerate pie for at least 30 minutes while oven preheats.
  35. Mix together the cream and milk.
  36. Brush top crust with the cream mixture to create a glossy finish and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  37. Bake pie at 400 for 50-60 minutes until crust is golden brown and the filling bubbling.
  38. Keep an eye on the pie edges during baking and cover then with foil or a pie shield if it they start to darken or scorch.
  39. Allow pie to cool completely before slicing to avoid soupy slices.
  40. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
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