Anyberry pie

This afternoon I found myself needing to make dessert for the Bible study group we have dinner with. Shockingly, I'm not much of a dessert person, so in the past I've often fallen back either on boxed mixes or other easy-to-make recipe, like Cheerio Squares.

I can't help but feel that that's cheating, though. For one thing, my wife and children do like a nice dessert; and for a second, the other members of the group often make rather involved desserts. So this morning I went to the store and bought enough strawberries and enough blueberries to make two pies. A quick search of the Internet brought up an all-purpose pie recipe at All Recipes, which I promptly altered slightly to reflect our tastes.

1¼ cups white sugar 
⅓ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon 
32 ounces fresh berries (by weight)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees,

Rinse and prepare berries and place them in a bowl.

In a separate container, thoroughly mix  sugar, flour and cinnamon. When mixed, add to the berry bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Put a lower crust into a nine-inch pie pan, then add berry mixture. After placing a second pie crust on top, go around the edge of the pie pan with a fork and pinch the two crusts together. Cut narrow slits in the upper crust of the pie.

Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes.


A note about substitutions: Feel free to make them. Remember, recipe are other people's suggestions, based on what works for them, When you're the one baking, you're the one in charge.

Sugar. I used white sugar. This could be done with the same amount of cane sugar, or 1 c. thoroughly packed brown sugar instead.

Flour. I used whole wheat instead of the all-purpose flour the original recipe called for because we prefer the taste of whole wheat.

Berries. The original recipe says that this recipe works for any kind of berry, whether blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or strawberries. If you use strawberries, remove their stems and cut them in half before stirring them into the sugar mixture.

All-purpose pie crust

I'm not much of a pie fan, but my family is. When it's necessary to bake a pie for a holiday, or just because it's time, it's good to have a good crust recipe to fall back on. Here is one that I use:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter (one stick)
¼ cup sourdough starter

Instructions

Take a 9-inch pie pan and set  it aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Mix in the butter and sourdough starter..

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a disc. Lightly flour the top of the pie dough, and lightly roll it until the dough is about an eighth-inch thick. Fold the dough over and lay it across the pie pan. Press the pie dough lightly into the bottom and sides of the pan.


A note about substitutions: Feel free to make them. Remember, recipe are other people's suggestions, based on what works for them, When you're the one baking, you're the one in charge.

Flour. I list all-purpose flour because that is the type of flour most people have most accessible in their kitchens. However, if you use ¾ all-purpose flour and ¾ whole wheat flour, you will get a much more flavorful crust. You also can substitute almond meal for half the flour if you prefer a nuttier flavor.

Sourdough starter. Don't like the taste of sourdough in a piecrust? Not a problem. Substitute cold water instead,