You've never tasted an old fashioned blueberry pie like this! Made with fresh blueberries and a sweet yeast dough. Made from a time before short crust pies were common, everyone will love this fresh blueberry pie!
I love fresh blueberries, and when they are in season, there's nothing tastier than my Old Fashioned Blueberry Pie recipe. How old is this recipe? It's an old style Russian pie recipe we call a Pirog. Before refrigeration and freezers, yeast dough was how we traditionally baked pies.
What Berries Are Best for Blueberry Pie?
There are many varieties of common blueberries sold in supermarkets. However, this recipe isn't only for the traditional blueberries, you can change it up! Try using these berries;
- Juneberries
- Saskatoon Berries
- Bilberries
- Haskap Berry (you'll need to add extra sugar to these tart berries)
- Blackberries (I sprinkle a bit of corn starch over these juicy berries)
- Huckleberries
Common Pastry Pie Dough
You've probably never heard of a Russian sweet pie, and what could possibly be different? It's the Sweet Yeast Dough, yes think more like a Cinnamon Bun! Most people think of an American Apple Pie made with a shortcrust pastry. Shortcrust is made with flour and fats, like lard or butter and ice water. Easily found in supermarkets so it's easy to make.
Other pies are often made with Puff Pastry, a flaky layered pastry dough. I use puff pastry for making Apple Turnovers or a Savory Cabbage Pie. You almost always buy these in the store in the freezer section.
Old Fashioned Blueberry Pie Ingredients
Homemade Sweet Yeast Dough
- 1 ⅓ cups lukewarm warm milk
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cups flour plus more for kneading
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
- egg wash
Blueberry Pie Filling Ingredients
- 1 pound/500 grams of fresh blueberries
- 5 tablespoons sugar
How to Make Blueberry Pie
- Plan ahead, this is going to take some time - it's worth it!
- Optional: Use a bread maker to make the yeast dough, like in this Cheese Pastry Recipe
- Activate the yeast and let sit for 15 minutes
- Mix in flour, eggs, sugar and oil, knead for 5 minutes. Cover and let rise for 1½ hours
- Punch down the dough, let it rise again (optional)
- Cut the dough in half, and thinly roll out
- Place half into a 9" greased pan, and cut the other yeast dough into strips
- Put blueberries inside pie pan and sprinkle with sugar
- Cover pie with lattice strips or criss cross dough
- Brush with egg wash and bake at 350°F/180°C for 35-40 minutes
Pie Designs
When making the pie top, I made an easy criss cross pattern, like a regular pie. You can weave it through and make it like a lattice. But there are many creative designs to cover your old fashioned blueberry pie.
- Classic- completely cover the pie with the rolled out yeast dough, cut a small circle in the middle to allow air to escape when baking
- Braid some yeast dough strips and place around the edges of the pie (to prevent burning, cover the braids with foil while baking)
- Cut the dough into pastry leafs, using a knife to score leaf patterns
- Wide lattice strips - cut sweet dough into 2" strips before weaving together
Blueberry Pie with Fresh Blueberries
Blueberry pie filling is easiest when made with fresh blueberries, no cooking required! This filling was made with 1 pound or 500 grams of fresh blueberries for a 9" pie pan. If you use a bigger pan, you will need extra blueberries, you will have enough yeast dough for a bigger pie pan.
When using fresh blueberries, I don't add any potato starch to thicken juices, I just sprinkle some sugar over the berries. That's it. In the video I only used 2 tablespoons of sugar, but if you like a sweeter pie filling, you can add 5 or 6 tablespoons of sugar.
Blueberry Pie with Frozen Berries
Frozen blueberries are often cheaper to buy and available year round. If using frozen blueberries as a pie filling, you will need to prepare it a bit differently. Make sure that the berries are fully defrosted, maybe in a colander in a sink so the juices drain out.
Mix in 3 tablespoons of potato starch or corn flour, and a few tablespoons of sugar with the blueberries. Russians use potato starch over corn flour, I use it to thicken all my sauces. That's how easy it is to prepare a blueberry pie filling from frozen berries. Remember to defrost the blueberries before using!
Pie Recipes You'll Love
I hope you love my Old Fashioned Blueberry Pie recipe, made with a sweet yeast dough. A unique blueberry pie, something different from every other pie you make. Rustic and tasty, you'll make it again and again. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Ingredients
Sweet Yeast Dough
- 1 ⅓ cups lukewarm warm milk
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cups flour plus more for kneading
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
- egg wash
Blueberry Filling
- 1 lb /500g fresh blueberries
- 5 tablespoons of sugar
Instructions
- Pour yeast, ½ of the lukewarm milk in a bowl, 1 tablespoon sugar, teaspoon salt. Whisk together and mix in ½ cup of flour. Allow to site for 15 minutes in a warm place until it starts to bubble and foam, then the yeast is activated.
- In a bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 5 tablespoons sugar, 5 tablespoons oil. Pour into the yeast mixture and slowly add the remaining flour until it forms a dough ball.
- Knead on a floured surface, adding more flour if needed, for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place back into bowl, cover with cling wrap.
- Place in a warm place until it rises, about 1 ½ hours. Punch down dough, gently knead and you are ready to use.
- Cut the yeast dough into 2 equal parts. Roll out both dough pieces into a circle, no thinner than ⅛” thin. Press one part of the dough inside a greased 9” pan, with the extra dough hanging over the pie pan. Cut the excess dough 2 inches wider than the edge of the pan.
- Place the blueberries inside the pie pan and sprinkle with sugar.
- Cut the second piece of dough evenly into strips that are ½” wide. Cover the pie into lattice or criss cross strips. Trim off the excess overhanging dough strips. Fold over the overhanging pastry dough base onto the pie, gently pressing down.
- Brush the pie top with egg wash (beating an egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of whipping cream)
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Allow too cool before serving.
Video
©PetersFoodAdventures.com
