All-american Apple Pie
By Tested and perfected in the Sur la Table kitchen
All-american Apple Pie
By Tested and perfected in the Sur la Table kitchen
Yield/Serves:
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie
Flaky Pie Dough
- 2 ½ cups (363 grams) all-purpose flour, unbleached
- ½ teaspoon (3 grams) salt
- 14 tablespoons (196 grams) salted or unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
- ½ cup (118 grams) ice water + 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 grams) more as needed
- Additional flour for rolling out dough
- 6 to 7 (2 ½ pounds) medium to large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices
- ½ cup (2 ¼-ounces) plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream
- Good-quality vanilla ice cream, for serving
Preheat the oven to 400° F and position a rack in the lower third.
To prepare the dough:
Put all ingredients but the ice water in a large bowl.
With clean hands, quickly mash the mixture together, or use a pastry blender with an up and down motion, until the ingredients look like cracker crumbs with lumps the size of peas and almonds. These lumps will make your crust flaky.
Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork. Squeeze a handful of dough to see if it holds together. Mix in more water as needed.
Divide the dough in half and make two chubby discs about 5 inches (12 centimeters) across.
Wrap the discs separately in plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour.
To prepare pie shell: Lightly flour a work surface, and draw a 12-inch circle in the flour. This guide will be the perfect size for a standard 9-inch pie dish. Place 1 recipe of pastry dough in the center of the circle and dust a little flour on top. Using the circle as a guide, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round about ⅛-inch thick. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, center the pin over a 9-inch pie dish, and carefully unroll the round over the dish, easing it into the bottom and sides and allowing the excess to overhang the sides. Trim the dough so that it overhangs by 1-inch. Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To prepare filling: Taste the apples; if they are very tart you may want to increase the sugar by 2 or 3 tablespoons. In a large bowl, gently toss the apples with 1/3 cup sugar (or more to taste), the lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice until evenly coated.
Transfer the filling to the pie shell and press down firmly on the apples with the spatula to eliminate some of the air pockets. Scrape any sugar or spices left in the bottom of the bowl over the top of the apples.
Lightly flour a work surface, and draw a 12-inch circle in the flour. Place the remaining pastry dough in the center of the circle and dust a little flour on top. Using the circle as a guide, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round about ⅛-inch thick. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, center the pin over a 9-inch pie dish, and carefully unroll the dough, to cover the top. Trim the top crust flush with the rim and decoratively crimp the edges.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the milk to create an egg wash and use the pastry brush to lightly glaze the surface of the pie. Sprinkle the pie with 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar. Use a paring knife to cut 3 or 4 decorative slits in the pie to allow steam to escape (or use a mini cookie cutter to make cuts in the dough). Bake the pie for 50 minutes to 60 minutes, until the crust is a lovely golden brown and the apples are bubbling and tender when pierced with the top of a paring knife. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 40 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream.
Getting Ahead:
You can make the pie crust 2 days ahead and keep it chilled and covered. You can cut the toss the apples with lemon juice up to 2 days in advance (they will brown, but they turn brown during baking anyway, so do not worry).
The pie may be completely assembled and refrigerated for up to 1 hour before baking, but if held longer, the sugar melts into a syrup, pools in the bottom of the pie shell, and make the bottom crust soggy.
Storing:
The pie will keep at room temperature under a cake dome for up to 2 days. For longer storage, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Reheat in a 375° F oven for 15 to 20 minutes to warm the filling and re-crisp the crust.
To prepare the dough:
Put all ingredients but the ice water in a large bowl.
With clean hands, quickly mash the mixture together, or use a pastry blender with an up and down motion, until the ingredients look like cracker crumbs with lumps the size of peas and almonds. These lumps will make your crust flaky.
Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork. Squeeze a handful of dough to see if it holds together. Mix in more water as needed.
Divide the dough in half and make two chubby discs about 5 inches (12 centimeters) across.
Wrap the discs separately in plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour.
To prepare pie shell: Lightly flour a work surface, and draw a 12-inch circle in the flour. This guide will be the perfect size for a standard 9-inch pie dish. Place 1 recipe of pastry dough in the center of the circle and dust a little flour on top. Using the circle as a guide, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round about ⅛-inch thick. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, center the pin over a 9-inch pie dish, and carefully unroll the round over the dish, easing it into the bottom and sides and allowing the excess to overhang the sides. Trim the dough so that it overhangs by 1-inch. Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To prepare filling: Taste the apples; if they are very tart you may want to increase the sugar by 2 or 3 tablespoons. In a large bowl, gently toss the apples with 1/3 cup sugar (or more to taste), the lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice until evenly coated.
Transfer the filling to the pie shell and press down firmly on the apples with the spatula to eliminate some of the air pockets. Scrape any sugar or spices left in the bottom of the bowl over the top of the apples.
Lightly flour a work surface, and draw a 12-inch circle in the flour. Place the remaining pastry dough in the center of the circle and dust a little flour on top. Using the circle as a guide, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round about ⅛-inch thick. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, center the pin over a 9-inch pie dish, and carefully unroll the dough, to cover the top. Trim the top crust flush with the rim and decoratively crimp the edges.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the milk to create an egg wash and use the pastry brush to lightly glaze the surface of the pie. Sprinkle the pie with 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar. Use a paring knife to cut 3 or 4 decorative slits in the pie to allow steam to escape (or use a mini cookie cutter to make cuts in the dough). Bake the pie for 50 minutes to 60 minutes, until the crust is a lovely golden brown and the apples are bubbling and tender when pierced with the top of a paring knife. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 40 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream.
Getting Ahead:
You can make the pie crust 2 days ahead and keep it chilled and covered. You can cut the toss the apples with lemon juice up to 2 days in advance (they will brown, but they turn brown during baking anyway, so do not worry).
The pie may be completely assembled and refrigerated for up to 1 hour before baking, but if held longer, the sugar melts into a syrup, pools in the bottom of the pie shell, and make the bottom crust soggy.
Storing:
The pie will keep at room temperature under a cake dome for up to 2 days. For longer storage, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Reheat in a 375° F oven for 15 to 20 minutes to warm the filling and re-crisp the crust.