THICK AND DELICIOUS SOURDOUGH CHERRY PIE

Sourdough cherry pie might be one of my all-time favourites. It’s so simple but this recipe is so good because the deliciously tangy sourdough pastry perfectly balances the thick, jammy cherry and vanilla filling. I also use a little maple syrup to for an extra caramelly, rich flavour. It’s very hard to stop sneaking more tastes as you’re making it!

My easy, flaky sourdough pie crust recipe is also a star performer, deliciously firm and crumbly, while also being super straightforward and simple — the best kind of recipe!

HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH CHERRY PIE

Follow my recipe one quantity of easy, flaky sourdough pie crust, making sure to refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before baking.

While the dough is refrigerating, place four cups of pitted frozen or fresh cherries, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla essence, lemon juice and cornflour into a large saucepan.

Stir well and cook on a medium heat until cherries are softened all the way through and the juice forms a thick syrup. Set aside.

Once pastry has refrigerated for two hours minimum, preheat oven to 400℉ or 205℃.

Take pastry dough from refrigerator and separate and shape dough into two round disks. Roll the first disk out on a well floured surface until quite thin, approximately 1/8 inch or 3 mm thick, flipping over throughout to coat with flour and prevent from sticking to the countertop. Rolled out, It should be roughly 14 inches or 35 cm in diameter.

Place dough in a greased pie dish. You can use a standard 9.5 inch or 24 cm one; in these images I’ve used a smaller, deeper dish (7.5 inches or 19.5 cm), and leftover dough was used to make smaller pies or frozen.

Roll out second disk of dough for the top crust as you did the bottom, and carefully lay over your pie dish. Seal pie how you prefer, I’ve used a pinched pleat, which is very quick and easy, and looks great.

With a serrated knife, add ventilation holes and then brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg, taking care to get it in and around all the folds.

Bake at 400℉ or 205℃ for 20 minutes and then reduce the oven to 375℉ or 190℃. Bake for a further 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

TIPS

1. Make sure pastry is cold and has been refrigerated for the minimum time (2 hours) so the end result is light and flakey.
2. I’ve used homegrown frozen whole, pitted cherries in these images, but any fresh or frozen pitted cherries will do. If you’re pitting them yourself, you’ll want a cherry pitter or alternatively you can use a metal straw like this one, which is quite effective and what we used.
3. Don’t use too little lemon juice. I find tasting the mixture to check it has enough sharpness really makes the difference between a ho-hum cherry pie filling and a superb one.
4. Enjoy on its own or served with pouring or whipped cream, or even better, a scoop of ice cream. Yum.