Rustic Plum Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not overmix.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead once or twice. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Flour a large (about 16 inches long) piece of parchment paper. Place dough on paper. Using your knuckles, press edges of dough so it doesn't crack during rolling. Lightly flour top of dough to prevent sticking; roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough (still on parchment) to prepared baking sheet.
• Make the filling and bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour. Mound plum mixture in center of prepared crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold border over fruit in a pleated pattern. Brush dough with egg wash.
• Bake tart until crust is brown and filling is bubbling (see note), about 45 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack; let cool 20 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Cut butter into bits and in a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together with, flour, sugar, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and toss or pulse until incorporated. Add enough remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork or pulsing to incorporate, to form a dough. Gather dough into a ball. On a work surface smear dough with heel of hand in 3 or 4 forward motions to make dough easier to work with. Form dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make filling:
• Halve and pit plums. Cut plums into 3/4-inch-thick wedges and in a bowl toss with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
• On a lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin roll out dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer dough to a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate. (Do not trim overhang.) Spoon filling into shell and fold edge of dough over filling, leaving center uncovered. Bake pie in middle of oven 35 minutes. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake pie 10 minutes more, or until filling is bubbling and crust is golden. Cool pie on a rack.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Stir together the prepared fruit, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and spices and/or seasonings in a large bowl until combined.
• On a well-floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large circle, about 12 to 14 inches. Make sure the rolled dough is chilled. Spoon the fruit mixture onto the center of the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, pleating the dough, then dot the fruit filling with the butter pieces. Lightly brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cover the crust with foil if the crust browns too quickly. Cool.
• Serve the warm galette with ice cream.
• Cook's Note: The same recipe can be made in individual serving sizes.
• To make pie dough:
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and the salt; cut or work the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry blender until you have large pea sized chunks scattered throughout. Alternatively, pulse the dough in a food processor, or mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed.
• Add the ice water slowly while stirring with a fork, or in the food processor or mixer, until just combined. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 2 disks, flatten and refrigerate each for at least 15 minutes.
• Roll out one chilled pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Reserve the second pie dough disc for another use. Transfer dough to pie plate, pressing the dough lightly into the plate; trim the edges. Dock the dough with the prongs of a fork evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Line the docked dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake the pie crust until the edges are brown and golden, about 15 minutes Remove from the oven and remove the weights. Return crust to the oven to finish baking for another 5 minutes.
• Rustic Pie/Galette Variations:
• Almond Apricot: Season the sliced apricots with almond paste or extract.
• Spiced-Apple Pear: Season the sliced apples and pears with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.
• All-Berry: Fill the baked crust with pastry cream and top with sweetened berries.
• Caramelized Onion and Walnut: Caramelize 4 Spanish onions; let cool. Top the dough with grated Gruyere cheese and spread the onions and toasted walnuts over the cheese.

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; blend until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• For topping:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss plums, 4 tablespoons sugar, ginger and cinnamon in bowl. Roll out dough on floured surface to 12 1/2-inch round. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Mix 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl; sprinkle over dough, leaving 2-inch plain border. Arrange plums in concentric circles on dough, leaving 2-inch plain border; drizzle with melted butter. Fold dough border in toward center. Brush border with egg glaze; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake tart until plums are tender and crust is golden, about 45 minutes.
• Stir preserves in saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush over plums. Cool tart 1 hour on baking sheet. Run long thin knife under tart to loosen. Using 9-inch tart pan bottom, transfer tart to plate; serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. On a work surface, unroll crust. Roll to a 12-in. circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet., In a large bowl, toss plums with 3 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch. Arrange plums on crust to within 2 in. of edges; sprinkle with ginger. Fold crust edge over plums, pleating as you go., In a small bowl, whisk egg white and water; brush over folded crust. Sprinkle with remaining sugar., Bake until crust is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• For the crust: Place the butter in the freezer while you measure the dry ingredients. Place the water over ice (you will drain it later) or into the freezer to chill.
• Stir together the flours, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Use the coarse side of a box grater to grate the butter all over the flour. Toss together with your fingers, pinching to break some of the butter into smaller bits and to coat with flour, working quickly to keep the butter cold. Continue rubbing until you have some pea-sized pieces of butter, with some slightly larger knobs. Add the vinegar, drain the water (if over ice) and add, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring with a fork to make a shaggy dough that mostly holds together (a food processor works well for this, too!). Squeeze the dough to form a ball, adding more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to hold it together if needed.
• Divide the dough in half and place each half on a generous sheet of plastic wrap. Sprinkle lightly with water if needed (if still dry and crumbly). Use the edges of the plastic wrap to pull and press the dough into a nice round disk and wrap tightly. Repeat with the remaining dough. If using right away, chill the dough in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 1 month.
• For the filling: Toss together the plums, apples, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well. Butter a cast-iron (or other oven-proof) skillet generously with butter and transfer the filling to the skillet, taking care to scrape any juices into the pan. Dot the top of the fruit with small pieces of the butter. Set aside (or refrigerate for up to 1 hour while you prepare the dough; don't leave too long since the lemon can react with the cast iron).
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove one disk of the dough from the fridge and roll on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll the dough into an 1/8-inch-thick round. Make sure the dough isn't sticking to the surface, then use a knife, pizza cutter or pastry scraper to cut the dough into 10 thick strips, each about 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Arrange the strips over the fruit in a crosshatch pattern: First, lay 3 strips across the top of the pie in the same direction. Pull the middle strip back slightly, then overlap with a strip going the opposite direction. Repeat, lifting the strips as needed to weave the perpendicular strip up and over. (The rye flour makes the dough flaky but delicate, so once the strips are on the fruit, don't fuss with them much. Don't worry if anything tears-you can press it together and use the egg wash to repair later.) Weave any extra dough around the outside rim of the skillet and press together, using cookie cutters or your fingers to make a design.
• Whisk together the beaten egg and cream. Brush the egg wash all over the top, using it to help repair any rips or tears. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake the skillet pie for about 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 250 degrees F and continue to bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is evenly golden brown, another 40 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly before serving, or cool completely. Cut into eight pieces. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve with ice cream.