THE BAKERY, THE FAR SIDE OF THE CRICK — The famous one. Made with the sweetest berries in this land or the next, and the reason folks cross the footbridge with empty baskets. Mr. Haskel will not tell you how he knows when it's done. We will.
What's In It
- Popberries, picked that morning
- Sugar, and not too much — the berries do most of it
- A spoonful of flour, to hold the juice
- Butter, cold and cut small, for the crust
- Flour, a pinch of salt, and ice water, also for the crust
- A brush of cream over the top
How It's Made
- Cut the cold butter into the flour and salt until it looks like coarse meal. Add ice water a spoon at a time, only until it holds together. Handle it as little as you can stand to.
- Roll half of it out on a floured board and lay it into the tin.
- Toss the popberries with the sugar and the spoonful of flour and pile them in high. They'll sink.
- Lay the top crust over, pinch the edges shut, and cut slits — more than you think. Brush with cream.
- Into the oven house. And here is how Mr. Haskel knows it's done: listen. The popberries pop as they heat, and they pop for a good while. When the popping stops and the juice runs dark and slow through the slits, the pie is finished. That is where the berry got its name.
- Out onto the sill to cool. Cut it hot and you'll get soup.
Where You'll Find It
At the Bakery, the far side of the crick, all through harvest. Come harvest-time it's also made up as hand pies — small enough for one pocket, sweet enough for two people — and one is free to any child who promises not to climb into the big tin.