The base of this recipe is a classic flaky pie crust, but amped up with some pretzel-y flavors like extra salt and some malty molasses. I tried making this dough by adding the pretzel powder into the flour itself, but found no matter what I did it ended up too crumbly – so the folding process helps ensure that everything is properly hydrated.

Ingredients: 

5 cups all purpose flour 

3 sticks plus 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold (or 30 Tbsp)

2 Tbsp white sugar (heaping)

1 Tbsp kosher salt (heaping)

1 ½ cups mini pretzels, ground to a powder (or 68g)

½ cup ice water 

2 Tbsp molasses 

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 

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Method:

• Measure out flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Mix together until well incorporated.

• Cut cold butter into vague tablespoons and add to your bowl. Toss with hands until butter is coated in flour mixture.

• Smash, squeeze, and break the butter chunks and dry ingredients together with your fingers until most of the mixture resembles a coarse meal but there are still some pieces of butter about the size of blueberries in the mix. 

• If butter has gone soft, place the entire bowl into the fridge to firm up. Otherwise, proceed.

• Mix vinegar, molasses, and ice water together, then SLOWLY add to the flour mixture a tablespoon at a time, tossing with hands in between additions. 

• Note: the amount of water you need will vary —  so add water only until the mixture holds together when pressed into a ball, but is still a little crumbly, and isn’t sticky to the touch. Start with the ½ cup of water listed above, and use more as needed.  

• Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and perform your folds. Roll out dough (it’s ok if it basically falls apart when rolling at this point) into a long rectangle-ish shape — short side facing you. 

• Sprinkle one third of your pretzel powder over your dough, and press into the dough with your hands to adhere. 

• Then, fold the dough like a letter: fold one side down towards you, then the side closest to you on top of that.  

• Press it all back together, rotate the dough 90 degrees, then repeat the roll and fold 2 more times. Dusting with extra flour as needed to prevent sticking. 

• Form dough into a rectangle then cut into two pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least half an hour, but up to overnight. 

• Dough can be made 1 month ahead of time, stored in the freezer wrapped in plastic wrap.

Precooking the fruit before filing the pie gives it a thick, jam-like consistency, without all the work of using pectin. If you just want to make jam, make this filling, skip the cornstarch, jar it up and save for later. If you’re not a rhubarb fan, leave it out and replace the quantity with more strawberries, it’ll be just as good!

Ingredients: 

16 oz. strawberries, quartered and green tops removed 

2 cups sliced rhubarb

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp kosher salt 

peel and juice of 1 lemon 

¼ cup cornstarch

3 Tbsp water

2 tsp vanilla extract

Spice up your life:

Warm spices like cardamom, allspice, or something like sumac can really add a layer of complexity to your jam, so throw a teaspoon of your favorite and give it a shot (I added cardamom to mine). 
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Method:

• Using a vegetable peeler, peel the lemon, north to south, in large strips. Some of the white pith is fine, but not too much. 

• Add the following to a large high-walled stock pot or dutch oven: quartered strawberries, sliced rhubarb, strips of lemon peel, juice of lemon, sugar, and salt. Stir well to combine.

• Set the pot over medium low heat, stirring the mixture regularly to prevent any scorching on the bottom of the pot. 

• Bring the mixture to a simmer and toggle the heat as needed to try to keep it there -- if this mixture reaches too full of a boil as it thickens it will spurt hot jam up at you as you stir, so be careful. 

• Once the mixture has reached the previously mentioned simmer, add those spices -- if using. 

• The fruit will start to break down without you having to smash it, so let it be and continue stirring. About about 20 minutes. 

• Continue cooking and stirring regularly until you can draw a line on the bottom of the pot with your heat proof spatula and the mixture parts like the red sea so you can see the bottom of the pot, when that line lingers for about a second, your jam is ready. This can take 30 - 45 minutes.

• Make the slurry: combine ¼ cup cornstarch with 3 Tbsp water until fully homogeneous. 

• Add slurry to your jam while whisking vigorously for about 1 minute, maintaining a full boil to cook off the raw cornstarch taste. 

• Turn off the heat and add vanilla extract, stirring to combine. Allow to cool slightly before filling your pie.

• Filling can be made several days beforehand stored in an airtight container in the fridge. 

You will need: 

1 recipe Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, room temp or chilled 

1 recipe Pretzel Pie Dough, chilled 

1 egg, 1 tbsp water (for egg wash) 

Flaky salt, demerara sugar (for decor) 

1 quarter sheet pan, foil, pie weights 

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 350 f. 

• Remove ½ of your chilled pie dough from the fridge and place on a surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll out your dough into a rectangle approximately 2 inches wider on all sides than your quarter sheet pan, dough should be just over an eighth of an inch thick. Make sure to dust the under and top side with flour as needed to prevent sticking while rolling. 

• Carefully transfer your rolled out dough to your quarter sheet, draping, rather than stretching it into place. Lightly press your dough into the corners of your pan to ensure it’s snug and pie dough makes contact with the full  surface of the pan. 

• Fold the excess dough underneath itself - between the inside of the edge of the pan and the rest of the dough - to create a lip, and crimp as desired, securing it along the edges of your pan. 

• Place your crimped pie dough right in the freezer to firm up while you roll out your second half of dough. 

• You can do the top of your pie in whatever way you want! Weave a lattice top! Use a cookie cutter! But, below you will find instructions to add a lattice top. 

• Repeat the same process as above for rolling out your dough until you end up with a rectangle slightly larger than your quarter sheet pan. 

• Using a chefs knife or a bench scraper, cut your sheet of dough into 1” strips, long ways, you should end up with nine or ten. 

• Transfer these to another sheet or plate and place in the fridge until ready to use.

• Remove pie base from freezer. Line the inside with foil, folding excess foil over your crimped edges to prevent burning, then fill with pie weights to the brim (I use dried beans), lightly pressing at the edges to make sure it makes it to the corners. 

• Place pie into a preheated oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until the crimped edges take on a liiiiitle bit of color. 

• Carefully remove pie from oven and remove pie weights and foil (careful, the weights will be hot! I usually scoop them out with a spoon and place into a heat safe bowl). 

• Prick the bottom of your pie with a fork to prevent ballooning. 

• Place back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes, until the bottom of the pie looks dry and has taken on just a touch of color. 

• Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes if you’re impatient (like me) or, ideally, wait until it fully reaches room temperature. 

• Fill and top your pie: spread your jam evenly along the bottom of the pie, then, create your lattice. Lay four to five strips (depending on how tight you want your lattice) parallel longways across your pie (it’s ok if they overhang a little at this point.) Then, fold back each alternating strip until the fold is almost at the edge of the pan, then place another strip right underneath the folded edge, then unfold the strips so they’re laying back flat on the pie. Repeat this process with the other set of strips, alternating back and forth until the entire pie is woven. 

• Trim any over hanging strips with scissors, then lightly press the strips into the crimps of your blind baked crust to adhere. 

• Brush the entire crust with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt and sanding sugar (if desired).

• Place pie into a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 - 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling has begun to bubble. If the edges of your dough are beginning to take on too much color, lightly tent with foil. 

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack until room temperature (but no one would be mad if you snuck a slice while it was still a little warm).

• Serve with vanilla ice cream for the full fantasy.