In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Dice the cold butter into ½” cubes. Add butter to the bowl and toss to coat in flour.
Using a fork, begin “cutting” the butter into the flour mixture by breaking up the butter with fork as you go until largest pieces of butter are no larger than ¼”. It’s okay if the butter isn’t uniform in size. The mixture is ready when it just holds its shape when squeezed together by hand.
Form a well in the center of the mixture and add the cold water. Starting from the center, begin incorporating the flour mixture with the fork until the dough barely comes together in large clumps. The dough will not look uniform, but should hold together when squeezed.
Dump the dough on your work surface and use your hands to gently gather the dough into a ball, pressing it together and flatten into a rough square about 1” thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes or overnight.
While the pie dough rests, prepare the spiced cherry filling. In a bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and spice; set aside.
Place thawed cherries and their juice into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer stirring often. Remove pan from heat, sprinkle the sugar mixture into the cherries while stirring and thoroughly combine. Return saucepan to medium-low heat and allow to boil for 1 minute while gently stirring.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Let cool completely on the counter or in the fridge before using. Filling can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. You will need a 13” x 9.5” baking tray.
After the dough has rested, remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it. Divide dough into two pieces; roughly ⅔ and ⅓. Wrap the smaller piece and place back in the fridge.
Lightly flour the rolling surface, the top of the dough and a rolling pin. Begin rolling the dough and rotate it often to make sure it’s not sticking. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is ⅛” thick and measuring about 12″x16″.
Gently fold the dough in half from top to bottom and then in half again from left to right. Pick the dough up with both hands, place the tip of the dough in the center of baking tray and carefully unfold it to cover the baking tray. Gently tuck the dough into the pan. Be careful not to stretch the dough as you do this and just lightly tuck it in to make sure it touches the bottom and corners of the pan. Press the dough into the sides of the pan to smooth out any wrinkles. Allow ½” overhang on all sides of the baking tray. Trim any excess with a pair of kitchen scissors. If any of the dough hangs less than ½” over the rim, simply cut excess from another section and patch it in where needed. Place the tray in the fridge to rest and pull out the remaining dough.
Divide the remaining dough in half. Proceed to roll out these doughs as above described. One should measure at least 13” long and the other should measure at least 9.5” long as these are the dimensions of the baking tray. Cut three 1×13” strips from the long dough and five 1×9.5” from the shorter dough. Place strips on a separate tray in the fridge to rest and chill. If any of the strips aren’t long enough, press shorter strips together to reach desired length.
Make an egg wash by mixing the egg and water together with a fork. Remove baking tray with bottom crust and transfer cherry filling into the dough-lined tray. With a pastry brush, egg wash the rim of the dough. Remove strips from the fridge. To create the lattice, with the short side of the pan facing you, evenly space the three long strips vertically across the filling. Starting from the top, fold back the middle strip a little past halfway and place a shorter strip horizontally across the filling so that it’s centered horizontally on the tray and covering the two unfolded strips. Unfold the center vertical strip to its original position. Fold back the outer two vertical strips to the first horizontal strip and place another short piece horizontally and unfold the two outer strips back to their original position. Fold back the center strip again and place the third strip horizontally. The first three horizontal strips should now be evenly spaced on the top half of the pie.
Repeat the process starting from the bottom of tray for the remaining two strips. Fold overhanging dough over the outer edges of the lattice and crimp together. Egg wash rim again and strips of lattice. Sprinkle with sugar, if using.
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before slicing. To store slab pie keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for up to three days (crust will soften over time). Or you may freeze slab pie for up to 5 months.
Recipe from Jessica Ellington.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Dice the cold butter into 1.2cm cubes. Add butter to the bowl and toss to coat in flour.
Using a fork, begin “cutting” the butter into the flour mixture by breaking up the butter with fork as you go until largest pieces of butter are no larger than 6mm. It’s okay if the butter isn’t uniform in size. The mixture is ready when it just holds its shape when squeezed together by hand.
Form a well in the center of the mixture and add the cold water. Starting from the center, begin incorporating the flour mixture with the fork until the dough barely comes together in large clumps. The dough will not look uniform, but should hold together when squeezed.
Dump the dough on your work surface and use your hands to gently gather the dough into a ball, pressing it together and flatten into a rough square about 2.5 cm thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes or overnight.
Make the filling
While the pie dough rests, prepare the spiced cherry filling. In a bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and spice; set aside.
Place thawed cherries and their juice into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer stirring often. Remove pan from heat, sprinkle the sugar mixture into the cherries while stirring and thoroughly combine. Return saucepan to medium-low heat and allow to boil for 1 minute while gently stirring.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Let cool completely on the counter or in the fridge before using. Filling can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Assemble the pie
Preheat the oven to 190°C. You will need a 33 cm x 24 cm baking tray.
After the dough has rested, remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it. Divide dough into two pieces; roughly ⅔ and ⅓. Wrap the smaller piece and place back in the fridge.
Lightly flour the rolling surface, the top of the dough and a rolling pin. Begin rolling the dough and rotate it often to make sure it’s not sticking. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is 3mm thick and measuring about 30x40cm.
Gently fold the dough in half from top to bottom and then in half again from left to right. Pick the dough up with both hands, place the tip of the dough in the center of baking tray and carefully unfold it to cover the baking tray. Gently tuck the dough into the pan. Be careful not to stretch the dough as you do this and just lightly tuck it in to make sure it touches the bottom and corners of the pan. Press the dough into the sides of the pan to smooth out any wrinkles. Allow 13 mm overhang on all sides of the baking tray. Trim any excess with a pair of kitchen scissors. If any of the dough hangs less than 13 mm over the rim, simply cut excess from another section and patch it in where needed. Place the tray in the fridge to rest and pull out the remaining dough.
Divide the remaining dough in half. Proceed to roll out these doughs as above described. One should measure at least 33 cm long and the other should measure at least 24 cm long as these are the dimensions of the baking tray. Cut three 3×33 cm strips from the long dough and five 3×24 cm from the shorter dough. Place strips on a separate tray in the fridge to rest and chill. If any of the strips aren’t long enough, press shorter strips together to reach desired length.
Make an egg wash by mixing the egg and water together with a fork. Remove baking tray with bottom crust and transfer cherry filling into the dough-lined tray. With a pastry brush, egg wash the rim of the dough. Remove strips from the fridge. To create the lattice, with the short side of the pan facing you, evenly space the three long strips vertically across the filling. Starting from the top, fold back the middle strip a little past halfway and place a shorter strip horizontally across the filling so that it’s centered horizontally on the tray and covering the two unfolded strips. Unfold the center vertical strip to its original position. Fold back the outer two vertical strips to the first horizontal strip and place another short piece horizontally and unfold the two outer strips back to their original position. Fold back the center strip again and place the third strip horizontally. The first three horizontal strips should now be evenly spaced on the top half of the pie.
Repeat the process starting from the bottom of tray for the remaining two strips. Fold overhanging dough over the outer edges of the lattice and crimp together. Egg wash rim again and strips of lattice. Sprinkle with sugar, if using.
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before slicing. To store slab pie keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for up to three days (crust will soften over time). Or you may freeze slab pie for up to 5 months.
Recipe from Jessica Ellington.
Pure Vanilla Extract
