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Delicious Maine Pie Recipes

Hello, Good Pie Co.’s Raspberry Pie and Tandem Coffee + Bakery’s Rhubarb-Hibiscus Pie.

Maine-Pies
Photo by Douglas Merriam
From our July 2016 issue

Hello, Good Pie Co.’s Raspberry Pie

Recipe by owner/baker Shari Hamilton

Makes one 10-inch pie

Crust:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup cold water

Filling:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 cups frozen or fresh raspberries
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk or water

To make the crust:

Add everything except water into a bowl, working with your fingers to break up the shortening until almost fully incorporated. Try not to rub the ingredients — you should be gently tossing and breaking the shortening into pieces. Next, make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the water into the well and very quickly toss and move your fingers as if you were trying to toss a salad. Once the dough is in the crumble stage, pack it into a ball as if you were making a snowball. This technique will yield a soft, light, and flaky crust. Every kitchen has its own atmosphere, and there are many different flours out there, so the perfect crust may mean adjusting the ingredients after some trial and error. Separate the dough ball into two balls, with one slightly larger than the other. Wrap them both in plastic and place them in the fridge for 20 minutes. Then roll out each, one of them to 11 inches in diameter and the other to 10 inches.

For the filling:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients well, making sure there are no lumps of cornstarch. Then toss with the raspberries. Line a pie tin with the larger crust, then pour the raspberries in and top with the second crust. Crimp your crust. Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with a bit of milk and brush the entire top of your pie. Cut slits in the top, place on a cookie sheet, and bake for 1½ hours or until you see continuous bubbles that are shiny and clear (this means the cornstarch is up to temp and will thicken the pie).

Tandem Coffee + Bakery’s Rhubarb-Hibiscus Pie

Recipe by baker Briana Holt

Makes one 10-inch pie

Hibiscus Concentrate:

  • 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers
  • 3 cups boiling water

Pie:

  • A pinch of Kosher salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (a thousand percent worth it to grate fresh)
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground anise seed (ditto)
  • 2 heaping tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch

Egg wash:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Crust:

  • 10-inch pie tin, lined with dough, about 1 inch of overhang (consider the Hello, Good Pie Co. crust recipe above!)
  • 6 strips of lattice, 1½ inches wide

Directions:

The night before you bake, pour water over flowers in a heatproof bowl or jar. Stir and cover tightly with plastic wrap, then let come to room temperature. Store in the fridge overnight, then strain, pressing on solids. This will make about 2½ cups of strong hibiscus concentrate. (Use your extra in your cocktails!)

Put chopped rhubarb, sugar, and orange zest in a large bowl, toss really well with your hands, and let marinate for 1–2 hours. Give it some attention as you walk by now and then, tossing it a bit. You want the sugar to partially dissolve and the rhubarb to macerate a bit.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Whisk cornstarch and sugar together in a small bowl, then toss well with the macerated fruit. Add all the remaining ingredients, including the hibiscus concentrate, and make sure it’s evenly mixed.

With your hands, scoop out the rhubarb from the bowl and dump it into your pie tin lined with dough. Make sure you fuss with the rhubarb a bit, as you want to nestle it in there, so there isn’t a lot of airspace between all the rhubarb bits. Weave your lattice over the pie. (Pro tip: Keep your lattice strips close to each other, centered in the middle of the pie. This allows for juices to bubble up ONLY out the edges, and makes your pie easier to slice and serve! Also, crimp your edges together.)

This next step is very important: Chill that pie! For at least an hour. The butter in the dough has gotten soft from being worked and handled, and you want that butter cold when it hits the oven.

Place your pie on a sheet tray to catch juices. Beat your egg for the wash, then combine it with the cream and give it a little mix. Brush your pie all over with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake your pie! It should take roughly an hour and 10 minutes, depending on your oven. All home ovens are different, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on your pie to see how it’s baking. The juices will eventually get bubbly and caramelized around the edges, even spilling over a bit onto the tray. After 20–30 minutes, turn your pie for even browning. Turn again after another 20–30 minutes, at which point your pie should be almost done! Pies can take an extra long time in home ovens, so turn down to 325 if you think it’s browning too much.

Let cool completely before slicing, or the juice will go everywhere. If you don’t care about that, then grab some ice cream and eat it hot out of the oven with forks and all of your friends.

Down East Magazine, March 2024 cover

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