Sweet strawberries mixed with tart rhubarb and sugar make this strawberry rhubarb lattice pie a wonderful addition to your late spring and early summer baking list. The flavor combinations of sweet, sour, and tart come together in a well-balanced pie that bursts with the taste of fresh spring fruits.
If using homemade pie dough, start by rolling out your dough. Leave one dough in the fridge while rolling out the base into a 12-13-inch circle for a 9” pie pan. Lay the dough into the pie pan and gently push it into the base and sides, trimming off the overhang longer than an inch. Place the pie into the refrigerator to chill until ready.
Place the sliced strawberries and rhubarb into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add ⅓ cup white granulated sugar (reserving another ⅓ cup), ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Gently mix until fully combined, then add 3 tablespoons of tapioca starch, mix again, and let sit for about 20 minutes.
Move the oven rack to the bottom third level and preheat to 425°F / 220°C. Line a baking sheet with foil and place into oven while it heats.
While heating, roll out the other pie dough to the same size. If using a lattice top, cut the pie dough into roughly 1-inch strips (a pizza cutter works well here). Remove the pie dish from the refrigerator, mix the rest of the sugar into the pie filling, and then fill the pie dish. Scoop the filling out of the bowl without getting too much of the juice at the bottom. Cut the 3 tablespoons of butter into chunks and dot the top of the filling with the pieces.
Place about 5 strips of pie dough across the top of the pie, about a ½ inch or so apart and parallel to each other. Gently pull back strips 1, 3, and 5 and place a new strip perpendicular to and on top of strips 2 and 4. Lay strips 1, 3, and 5 back down and then pull back strips 2 and 4. Lay another strip on top of them and perpendicular, then lay strips 2 and 4 back down. Repeat this process until you make it across the pie. Tuck the overhanging pieces under the bottom pie crust and pinch to seal.
In a small bowl, mix the egg with about a tablespoon of milk. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the pie dough with the egg and milk mixture. Optionally, add some sugar to the top of the pie dough, like demerara or turbinado.
Place the pie dish onto the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375°F / 190°C. Add a pie shield now if desired. Continue baking for another 40-50 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is browned, and the fruit filling starts to boil over the crust.
Allow the pie to fully cool and set, at least 2-3 hours. The longer it sits out to set, the less runny it should be when you slice into it. Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream.
1) Baking Sheet – Using a baking sheet isn’t a requirement, but it makes a few things easier. Pie dishes tend to have very little area to grab ahold of, so using a baking sheet makes moving it in and out of the oven easier. Heating the baking sheet while the oven preheats also gives the bottom crust a jump-start in cooking. Finally, fruit pies tend to boil up and over the crust, so if this happens, cleanup is much easier.2) Frozen Fruit – You can use frozen, but I do recommend thawing both at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour before using. Frozen strawberries and rhubarb will release a lot of water as they thaw, so strain that out before making the filling as directed.3) Cutting Fruit – Because of the long and hot baking time here, do not cut the strawberries or rhubarb too small. Wide pieces of rhubarb can be cut in half lengthwise, and then chopped about a ½” wide. Strawberries should be sliced roughly the same size, just avoid small chunks or thin slices. When chopped too small, the filling can get mushy after baking.