Peach and Blueberry Pie with Rye Flour Crust

I was going to make tarts, but then it looked like I had a lot of fruit, and the dough I made was more like a pie dough, so I made a pie instead.  I made the Cook's Illustrated vodka pie crust (for a single crust pie) but with 50% rye flour.  I also used butter-flavored shortening (Spectrum Organics makes a good one) for the 1/4 of shortening called for in the recipe.

This dough is hard to roll out!  It's very wet.  I wonder if the density of rye flour is too different to measure it by volume in a substitution.  Maybe I should weigh it next time.  I resorted to rolling it on a silicone baking sheet with a piece of plastic wrap on top and sticking it in the freezer when it got too gluey.

The filling was totally lazy.  I just cut up some peaches, added a point of blueberries, about 5 tbsps of sugar, 4 tbsps of arrowroot, and some lemon zest and juice, and poured it all into the unbaked crust.  Then I baked it at 425 for 40 minutes, which was probably 5 minutes too long.  One problem with using the dark rye flour is that it's hard to see the crust browning until it's starting to burn.

Next time, I would probably pre-bake the crust, because it didn't hold together well on the bottom.  I just had to try it without once, to see if I could skip that step.   The filling could probably stand more arrowroot, but wouldn't need it if this was done as a tart (the fruit isn't piled as deep so there's less juice).

So how does the crust taste?  Not that different from an all-white crust, IMO.  Shirley liked it though.  It's a bit more crumbly than an all-white crust, but still very tender.  I might just use whole wheat instead of rye flour next time, because I think it provides more flavor.  Or spelt, which has a great flavor in scones.

Tomato Tarts with a Corn Flour Crust

It's tomato season again.  I decided to try making a different crust, based on one from Cook's Illustrated with a different mix of flours.  I used olive oil and half corn flour (not cornmeal or cornstarch).  I thought it tasted good, but the dough was pretty greasy to work with.  I pushed it into the pans instead of rolling it out.  Maybe the corn flour absorbs less oil than AP flour.  I measured by volume, not by weight, so it's also possible I need more flour.  I think next time I'll try using whole wheat flour for more texture.

Note: These did not require pre-baking.  The crust came out fine on the bottom without it.

Corn Tart Crust

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps corn flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsps olive oil
• 1/4 cup cold water

Directions

1. Mix the flours, salt, and sugar in a food processor.
2. Add olive oil and pulse until mixture becomes small pebbles.
3. Add water, one tbsp at a time, and pulse until dough starts to come together.