Created by Marilyn Pearson, founder of Marilyn’s Bakery in Hobart, Indiana, this pie was named the Best Pie East of the Mississippi during the 2007 Sustainable Table’s Eat Well Guided Tour of America in 2007. While many pastry chefs might want to keep such a great pie a “trade secret”, Marilyn is sharing her recipe and reminds everyone to use fresh, Indiana, in-season berries for the best flavor.
For the filling:
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
½ cup fresh red raspberries
½ cup fresh blackberries
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For the pie dough:
4 cups flour (regular or wheat)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 ¾ cups solid shortening (or can use butter or palm oil)
1 egg ½ cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Combine the berries and the rest of the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and set aside while you make the crust. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. To make the crust-- mix together flour, salt, and sugar with a fork.
Cut in shortening with a fork until the dough resembles corn meal.
Whip egg in a small bowl. To the egg, add water and vinegar separately and whisk to thoroughly combine.
Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture and gently combine until well moistened.
Mold dough into two equally sized balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in fridge for an hour.
Flour board or counter, unwrap the dough balls, and flatten each with your hand a bit. Then roll out each ball with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick.
Carefully place one of the rolled pie dough pieces into a 9-inch pie pan. Gently press the pie dough down so that it fits snuggly into the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.
Add filling to the pie. Use your fingers to gently and evenly distribute the filling around the bottom of the pan. Roll out the second disk of dough in the same manner as the first one.
Gently place the second rolled piece of dough onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch the top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together with your fingers or a fork and use the kitchen scissors to trim any overhanging dough.
Score the top of the pie with four 1-inch long cuts, so that the steam from the cooking fruit can escape. Place the pie on a cookie sheet lined with foil so that any drips will be made onto the foil and not the floor of your oven.
Place the pie in the oven and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 and bake for another hour. Remove the pie from the oven and place the pie on a cooling rack while you impatiently wait for it to cool before serving.
akes one 9 inch pie.
