How exciting, my very first post to my new blog!! I thought I would celebrate by giving you my apple pie recipe. You wouldn't know this to look at the picture I've posted, but I've been working on perfecting my apple pie for a long time. One of the things that bothered me the most about my past attempts, besides the crust looking as though I'd simply dropped it on top of the fruit, was that when the finished pie settled during the cooling process, there would be this 1-inch gap separating the crust from the apples. You would think that piling on the apples and securing the pastry nice and snug would create a tight pie but as the raw apples cook within the crust, they shrink back leaving that pesky little gap. What finally worked for me was cooking the apples down a bit. Not so much that they transform into mush, but just enough to alter the apples characteristic snap into something a bit more al dente. As far as the crust is concerned don't be discouraged if your top crust doesn't come out as pretty as you would like, it's tough to get it just so and only tons of practice will make it perfect. So get going, I simply can't imagine a better homework assignment!
- For the dough you will need
12 ounces of pastry flour (use all purpose if that's what you have on hand but plan on using pastry flour next time as there is less protein in it which will result in a more tender crust),
8 ounces of very, very,
cold butter cut into 1-inch cubes,
6 ounces of ice cold water, 1 teaspoon of salt and
1 beaten egg white (reserved, to wash the top of the finished pie).
- To prepare the dough, sift the flour into a super large bowl, add the cubes of butter, smash the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the flour/butter resembles a course crumb mix. Combine the salt and the water stirring until the salt dissolves. Make a well in the center of the flour and add all of the water at once. Toss the mixture with your hands as if you were tossing a salad incorporating all of the water. Pour the mixture onto a cold hard surface (kitchen counter top ok or if you are lucky enough to have one, a marble slab) and pack together flattening with the palm of your hand as you go. Using a bench scrapper fold the flour onto itself a couple of times until the dough has come together. Divide the dough into two pieces insuring that one piece is larger than the other. Wrap them both in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or overnight.
- For the filling you will need a
5 lb bag of Granny Smith apples(my favorite type of apple for the sharp tart tingle it inspires on the sides of my tongue) peeled, cored and thinly sliced,
1 1/2 cups of sugar,
1/4 cup of flour,
1 teaspoonof cinnamon,
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg (fresh ground if you can),
1 teaspoon of orange liquor (you can substitute real vanilla extract) and the
juice and grated zest of one large lemon.
- To prepare the filling, combine the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange liquor, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Toss well to combine. Heat a large, wide pot over medium heat. Add the apple filling, cover the pot and cook the apples for about 8 minutes making sure to stir the apples a few times while they cook. Remember not to overcook the fruit. Remove the filling from the pot spreading it into one layer onto a baking sheet to cool.
- Meanwhile, over a cold surface, roll the smaller piece of dough into a circle using a floured rolling pin. This can be achieved by rolling forward and backwards in one motion and left to right, also in one motion. Turn the dough once to the right and repeat until you've rolled out a nice circle about 13 inches in circumference. Fold the dough in half and place the flat edge of the dough half in the middle of a 9-inch pie plate. Open the dough snuggling it into the plate allowing the ends to hang. Trim the ends to about 1 inch using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors and place in the refrigerator to chill while you roll out the larger piece using the same technique. Pour the cooled filling into the chilled pie shell smoothing out the top to even it out. Cover the top of the pie shell with the 2nd piece of dough using the same folding technique mentioned above. Trim the ends to about 1 inch and press both top and bottom crust ends together with your fingers. Working quickly, fold the top edge over the bottom all the way around the pie and then using your index, middle and thumb fingers as if you were going to form a "t" in sign language, make a fluted edge. Make 3 medium sized cuts on the top crust as if fashioning a simple stick flower, wash the top of the pie with the beaten egg white and bake in a 400 F. oven for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 375 F., rotate the pie 180 degrees and continue baking for an additional 40 minutes or until the juices are bubbling through the ventilation slits and the bottom and top crusts are golden brown (baking your pie in a glass pie plate helps in checking the bottom of the pie for doneness). Cool for 2 -4 hours so that the juices have time to properly thicken and serve with your favorite ice cream (I prefer homemade but that's another post). Enjoy!