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Pie filling:
5-6 cups blackberries, rinsed and dried (frozen berries are OK too)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Crust:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter (can also use vegetable shortening)
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water
1 egg for eggwash (optional)
sugar
Make the dough:
Chill everything—butter, flour, water, vodka, even the food processor. Cold temps will stop gluten from forming and make the dough easier to work with.
In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Add butter and pulse to form small-ish pieces with no uncoated flour. You can also use a pastry blender, pastry cutter, or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. If using a food processor, leave bean-sized clumps of dough. If doing by hand, they should be more like peas.
Put the mixture in a bowl. Sprinkle with water and vodka. Use a spatula to fold the liquid into the dough until the dough holds together. Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead once or twice to form a ball. Divide into two balls, flatten into disks, and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 45 minutes, or up to 2 days.
Make the filling:
Combine blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and tapioca flour in a large bowl. Mix to coat the berries. Using the back of a spoon or your hands, mash about a third of the berries, leaving the rest whole. Let rest for about 20 minutes to come together.
Make the pie:
Preheat the oven to 425°. Place a baking sheet on the middle rack.
Roll one disk of dough into a 12-inch round. To make this easier, lay out a large square of plastic wrap, place the dough in the middle, and cover with a second square of plastic. Roll out the disk in between the plastic layers.
Transfer the disk to a 9-inch pie plate. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly into the plate. If the dough tears, dab your fingers with water and patch it up. Trim the edges, leaving a half-inch overhang. Refrigerate the shell while preparing the top.
Using the same plastic technique, roll out the remaining disk into a rectangle of the same thickness as the crust. Use a pastry wheel or knife to cut the rectangle into strips. The number and width of the strips depends on whether you prefer more or less crust on top.
Remove the shell from the fridge and spoon in the berry mixture. Dot the berries with the chilled cubed butter. Arrange the strips in a lattice pattern on top of the filling. Trim the strips to the edge of the pie plate. Use your fingers to crimp the edges of the shell.
Brush the latticework and outer edge with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Place the pie on the hot baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes, until the crust begins to turn golden. Reduce heat to 350° and bake until the crust is golden brown and the inside is bubbling, about 30 minutes. If the edges brown too quickly, cover with foil to finish baking. Let the pie cool before serving—it’s hard to resist cutting immediately, but the extra time will help the filling stay together.