Linzer Pie With Decorative Crust

Linzer Pie is a traditional pie that combines the same flavors like the Linzer Cookies. This time, I gave it a little twist and made it with a decorative crust.

Sweet pastry, acid jam, it’s the perfect combination. The Linzer Pie is also called Grid Pie in the Czech Republic because traditionally, it’s made on large rectangular baking trays with grid crust. Every now and then, I like to make it in a form of a round pie with decorative crust for which this type of dough is ideal.

(for round baking pan of aprox. ⌀ 25 cm/9/10 in)

Dough

1. 250 g/8.8 oz of fine flour
2. 80 g/2.8 oz of sugar
3. 1/2 tbsp of baking powder
4. 1 egg
5. 65 g/2.3 oz of unsalted butter
6. 3 tbsp of milk
7. pinch of salt

Filling

1. 250 g/8.8 oz of jam – the best is red currant

Other

1. egg yolk with a little milk
2. grease and flour for the baking pan

In a bowl, combine flour with baking powder, salt, sugar and egg, then add diced cold butter. Knead the dough quickly, first with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. The dough will seem too dry at first but just hang on. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, incorporating each tbsp before adding another. You might not need to add all three. The dough shouldn’t become sticky, just compact.

Split the dough in two halves, set one aside. Roll out the other half between two sheets of baking paper. The dough should be round, not more than 5 mm / 0.2 in thick and it should be large enough to cover the bottom of the pan and at least a part of the sides.

You can peel it off the paper and place it in the pan or – like me – flip it into the pan together with the paper (paper facing up) and then peel off the paper.

You can still shape the edges with your hands to make them a little higher or you can cut them off if there’s excess dough somewhere.

Fill the pie with jam until just under the edge of the dough.

For braids, roll out a narrow stripe of dough, at least as long as the diameter of your baking pan. Cut out 9 equal thin stripes, 3 for each braid.

Make 3 braids.

Place the braids on the pie in a parallel way and cut of the excess dough to align them with the pie.

Form small leaves by hand and with the blade of a knife, make indents with light pressure in a way the veins of a leave go.

Place the leaves on the edge of the pie, press a little. It looks good to combine two or three leaves.

Shape the petals in any way you like and place them next to each other in a circle on the edge of the pie. Lay the petals in two layers.

Place three tiny dough balls in the center of each blossom.

Roll out several thin stripes. Tuck one end of each stripe behind a blossom or a leaf and then place it twisted and spiraled on the pie as offsets.

Glaze the dough with whisked egg yolk and a little milk. Use fine brush for this to glaze all the details and prevent the yolk from dripping onto the jam.

Preheat your oven to 180°C/356°C and bake for 30 minutes. The crust should be golden brown.

Let the Linzer Pie cool down and serve.