Anne Dimock's Straight-Up Rhubarb Pie
Straight-up rhubarb.
Pie dough time. Dimock says to stir the flour first to fluff it up, then we like the old scoop-and-sweep method. First, the scoop:
(The overfill.)
The sweep.
We didn't really need to show you the sugar going into the flour, but can you blame us? Salt goes in too.
Dimock grew up with shortening-based pie crusts, but she uses non-hydrogenated brands now. If you prefer another type of fat -- butter, lard, suet -- go for it.
Her favorite tool for cutting the fat in? A fork.
Keep stirring and fluffing with the fork as you incorporate the ice water.
It'll drink up the water and become more dough-like -- don't get too aggressive here or gluten will develop and the dough will toughen.
Stop when it seems it will hold together in a ball without crumbling to bits.
No resting -- onward to rolling! Plastic wrap is our friend here.
Sandwich the larger half of your dough between 2 well-floured squares of plastic wrap.
Then roll with confidence, outward from the center. Feel around midway through to make sure your dough isn't sticking to the plastic. If it is, distribute more flour.
When you're an inch or so wider than the pie pan and the dough is evenly about 1/8th-inch thick, you're good.
The classic way to transfer pie dough to the pan -- slumped over the rolling pin.
If you miss the mark, just gently shift it into place. It'll be okay. Try not to stretch the dough, merely guide it. Then send it to the freezer while you make your filling.
Rhubarb without a co-star, for once.
Slices about 1/4-inch thick work well here.
For every cup of sliced rhubarb, you'll need 1/4 cup of sugar, a tablespoon of flour, and a pinch of cinnamon.
Toss!
Pull the crust from the freezer and fill 'er up. If the rhubarb has been sitting for a while, it will have gone syrupy, but that's okay -- just dump it in.
Trim the edges.
Paint them with water so they'll seal to the top crust.
Roll out and flop on your top crust.
Trim again.
Go with a classic crimping style, or take it easy and just fold under the edges.
Cut a few vents to let the steam escape and slide it into the oven.
About 45 minutes later -- voila!
Share
- ✉
-
Author Notes: In this pie, there are no strawberries to claim rhubarb's glory. Anne Dimock's simple filling formula calls for 1/4 cup of sugar and a tablespoon of flour for every cup of sliced rhubarb, plus a little cinnamon, an unlikely accent that brings out the rhubarb's fire. Her golden pie crust ratio is 3:1 flour to fat -- feel free to adjust both filling and crust up or down depending on the size of your pan. Adapted from Humble Pie: Musings on What Lies Beneath the Crust (Andrews McMeel, 2005) with additional notes from The Essential New York Times Cookbook (Norton, 2010). - Genius Recipes
Makes 1 9-inch pie; serves 6-8
For the crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening (Dimock uses non-hydrogenated brands like Spectrum or Earth Balance, but use another fat like butter or lard if you prefer)
- About 6 tablespoons ice water
For the filling
- 5 cups sliced rhubarb
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 2 pinches cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter (optional)
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Make the crust: before measuring the flour, stir it to leaven with air and then measure out 2 cups. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork or pastry blender. Stop as soon as the sheen of the shortening disappears and the mixture is a bunch of coarse pieces. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water at a time over the dough, lifting and tossing it with the fork. When it begins to come together, gather the dough, press it into a ball and then pull it apart; if it crumbles in your hands, it needs more water. (It's better to err on the side of too wet than too dry.) Add a teaspoon or two more water, as needed.
- Gather the dough into two slightly unequal balls, the larger one for the bottom crust and the smaller one for the top. Flatten the larger ball, reforming any frayed edges with the sides of your hand. Dust with flour and roll the dough, starting from the center and moving toward the edges. Take a knife or thin spatula and quickly work its edge between the crust and the counter top. Lift the dough to the side; dust the dough and counter top with flour. Roll again until the diameter is an inch or 2 larger than that of the pie pan. Lay the rolling pin a third of the way from one of the edges. Roll the crust onto the pin and then unroll the crust into a 9-inch pie pan and shift it into place. Place in the freezer while you make the filling.
- Make the filling: in a large bowl, blend the rhubarb, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour into the crust-lined pie pan. Dot with butter, if using.
- Roll out the top crust. Dab the rim of the bottom crust with water to create a glue. Then place the top crust over the rhubarb; trim, seal and cut several vents. Bake for 15 minutes; reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, or until a bit of pink juice bubbles from the vents in the crust.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes
Share a Recipe
Enter one of our contests, or share that great thing you made for dinner last night.
Add a Recipe
2 days ago Carole Paquette
Everything was delicious but it was a bit too runny. Will add a little more flour next time. Also used 1/2 butter and 1/2 Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread and that worked beautifully. I used my food processor to make the crust, pulsing to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture, then add the ice water a Tablespoon at a time through the feed tube. I made it with only a bottom crust and used an oatmeal crisp crumbly topping. My hubby says it is the perfect rhubarb pie recipe and I needn't look any further.
2 days ago heatherp
totally righteous recipe.
it tasted exactly like my grandmother's pie. and that's a really good thing.
6 days ago Nancy Mck
I am totally on board with this pie. I never understand the need to add strawberries to rhubarb.
16 days ago karela
Here is a great trick from Cook's Illustrated. You can use half water and half vodka for the liquid. You will NOT be able to detect the vodka taste after it's baked (all the alcohol bakes out)and the vodka doesn't develope gluten like water does so you can get it plenty moist enough to roll easily and still have light, tender, flakey crust without the toughness that too much water creates. Magic!
17 days ago Emsbutler
My family loves this pie, too...more than any other type. So, in the spring when rhubarb is available I make sure to freeze some. I cut it into one inch pieces and pop into a freezer bag so I am always ready, even if the rhubarb isn't in the stores (or in my garden).
17 days ago jamcook
Added 2 pinches of Penzey's Baking spice.. a wonderful combination of everything nice..cinnamon.. anise seed, allspice, mace and cardamom..looks and smells lovely. for a potluck tonight
about 1 month ago ACK
How thick/thin should the rhubarb be sliced?
29 days ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
If you page through the slideshow above, you can see lots of details -- we went for 1/4-inch-thick slices.
about 1 month ago MadChef
Grandma called it pie plant for a reason,to make rhubarb pie.
about 1 month ago KT
sure looks like there is rhubarb and some other fruit in this pie. Like peaches or something???
about 1 month ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
Nope! Just straight rhubarb. This just happened to be a batch of rhubarb with more green in it.
2 months ago adele93
if butter is used instead of shortening do i use 2/3 cup still?
2 months ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
Yes, exactly -- make sure the butter is very cold when you cut it into the flour, and that it stays cold as you work with it. You might even want to chill the dough for 30 minutes or so before rolling out. This will help it get nice and flaky in the oven.
11 months ago KLL5
My comment on this recipe is that the filling came out tasting too sweet- and not much like rhubarb. Perhaps it was my rhubarb, but I would use much less sugar next time. I do like this crust recipe! It was very easy to make.
11 months ago daisybrain
It is a Father's day tradition on my house to make a rhubarb pie. So far I haven't used the same recipe twice. This one may rate highly enough to try next year. I did add extra rhubarb though. Maybe an extra cup. Very yummy. My 9 year old proclaimed it his new favorite pie outranking both pumpkin and apple.
12 months ago May Ellen
I love Rhubarb pie. I use cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg, like my Great Grandmother's recipe for Rhubarb crisp. Last year I also added a little cardamon, it is a family favorite.
about 1 year ago elltea
Absolutely delicious! I added 1/4 tsp cardamom inaddition to the cinnamon and love the result. And this pie crust is now my go-to recipe -- it is painless and unfussy, yet flaky and fine! Thank you so much for sharing this.
about 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I made this for house guests over the weekend, following the recipe to the letter. What a delicious pie! Everyone loved it. ;o)
about 1 year ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
So glad you liked it!
about 1 year ago ergringle
Looks great. We love rhubarb pie and make my husband's grandmother's recipe which has no cinnamon, but the zest of an orange sprinkled on top of the filling before the top crust is added. Fabulous!