Spoke Signals

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I was deeply unhappy and feeling directionless in my office job when I first spun this pie wheel. I felt trapped in a vortex of monotony but didn’t know how to break the cycle. What has become known as my Signature Spoke spiraled out of that season of stasis.

From its unassuming inception in my personal kitchen, it has since been dubbed “the modern lattice” and, against all odds, has made its rounds through restaurants, homes, and media platforms all over the world. Today, it comes full circle as a mainstay of this book. This design now represents my name, my brand, and an entire modern pie movement. I once was lost but now I’m round, and this is a testament that the swirled sometimes works in mysterious ways. So if you’re searching for a signal to get rolling, circle this one.

2 disks Basic Pie Dough

BLUEBARB FILLING

3 cups (18 ounces/510 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries

3 cups (1 pound/454 grams) fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into ¼-inch slices

1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar

⅓ cup (38 grams) tapioca starch

½ tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

EGG WASH AND SUGAR SPRINKLE

Egg wash

Demerara sugar (optional)

SIGNATURE SPOKE DESIGN NEEDS

Parchment paper

Ruler

Pastry wheel

2-inch circle cutter

Small bowl of water

Pastry brush

Paring knife

1. Roll 1 dough disk into an 11 × 15-inch rectangle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using a ruler as a straight edge and a rolling pastry wheel, cut the rectangle widthwise into at least 30 ¼-inch strips.

2. Slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment and place the dough in the refrigerator to keep cold while proceeding with the pie.

3. Roll the second dough disk into a 14-inch circle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it over a 9-inch pie pan. Taking the edges of the dough, gently ease the dough into the pan, nestling it into the inner elbows of the pie pan. Trim the excess dough with kitchen shears to create a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang back under, creating an elevated edge.

4. To make the bluebarb filling, set aside ¼ cup (43 grams) of the blueberries. Combine the remaining blueberries, rhubarb, sugar, tapioca starch, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl. Gently fold with a spatula until all the fruit pieces are coated.

5. Pour the filling into the pie shell.

6. Place a 2-inch circle cutter in the center of the filling as a reference point. Using a small pastry brush, lightly dab water around the edge of the pie shell.

7. Remove the dough strips from the fridge. Gently pick up a strip of dough, handling it only from the ends, and lay it across the pie, with the strip grazing the outside of the circle cutter. Lightly press the strip into the edges of the pie to secure.

8. Place another dough strip across the pie. The center of this second strip should lay slightly on top of the first and also graze the center circle cutter. The end of the strip in your left hand should rest ½ inch to the left of the first strip and the end in your right hand to the right of the first.

9. Continue laying dough strips in this fashion, working your way around the pie surface twice. Resist the urge to manually curve each strip. The optical illusion of the full design inspires a curved effect, but the individual strips should be maintained as straight lines.

10. Press the edges of the pie to secure the strips in place. Holding a paring knife at a 45-degree angle to your work surface, run it around the edge of the pie pan to trim the excess dough.

11. Gently remove the center ring cutter and carefully fill the crater with the ¼ cup of reserved blueberries.

12. Chill the entire pie in the freezer until the oven has come to temperature. The pie can be frozen solid or simply chilled through, about 20 minutes.

13. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and prepare the egg wash.

14. When the oven has reached temperature, remove the pie from the freezer and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar, if desired.

15. Bake the pie for 25 minutes, then rotate the pie 180 degrees and lower the oven temperature to 350°F. If the edges are already brown, cover with a shield. If the top begins to brown excessively, rest a sheet of foil lightly on top. Continue baking until the filling is bubbling in the center, checking every 30 minutes to rotate the pie and adjust the shields as necessary, 80 to 100 total minutes. (If baking from frozen, add 30 to 45 minutes to the bake time.)

16. Cool the pie completely on a rack before slicing and serving.

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SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTIONS

Dough alternatives: Beet, Black Sesame, Blueberry, Butterfly Pea Flower, Cornflower, Dragon Fruit