Apple Pie

There are a lot of recipes for apple pie. I made one long ago and it came out with a big air pocket. Apparently because the type of apple/s I used don't keep their shape. I was rushed into making this pie so had to use a recipe that was relatively quick. 12/12/10 The second recipe is from the Joy of Baking site, which requires a lot more wait time for seeping the apples.

1. Apple Pie - Rush Version - ****
(adjusted: originally used 1/2 c butter and 1/2 t nutmeg and scant 1/2 c each sugar)
I used 1 Fuji, 1 Granny Smith, 3 gala, 2 empire. I think it came out too sweet. It also spilled over in the oven - I think I need to use the 10" pie crust recipe next time.

• 6-7 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 c butter
• 3 T flour
• 1/4 c water
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg

1. Melt butter in pan. Stir in flour to make a paste. Add in water, sugars and spices. Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer.
2. Roll out pie crust into plate. 
3. Pour out liquid from sugar mixture. Mix remainder with apples. Pour apples into pie crust.
4. Cover with top crust and seal edges. Cut out vents in the middle. 
5. Bake on lower middle rack (so the bottom crust gets fully cooked) at 425F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and cook for 35-45 minutes. 
6. Let cool before cutting.

Double Pie Crust 9" (10")

• 2 c flour (2.5 c)
• 1.5 T sugar (2 T)
• 1/2 t salt (3/4 t) [browning and flavor enhancer]
• 2/3 c frozen butter (1 c) [flakiness and flavor]
• ~1/2 c ice cold water [binding and pliability] (3/4 c)

1. Mix flour with sugar and salt. 
2. Grate in the butter (coarse grater) and mix.
3. Add water and stir until barely combined, adding a tablespoon of water at a time to bring it together.
4. Place in plastic wrap and mush together better. Flatten to disc and refrigerate for 30+ minutes.
5. When ready, divide in half. Roll out each to fit pie plate.
6. Optional: brush with egg white to prevent sogginess

Variations

- corn starch, lemon juice, allspice/cloves/ginger

2. Apple Pie - Slow Version - ****
12/12/10 This is based on the Joy of Cooking recipe. I used 2 gala, 1 golden delicious, 2 mutsu, 1 ?, and 1 ?. One of the apples was bad so there weren't as many apples as in the first recipe. I also used the 10" crust with a lot more butter. So it's hard to do the comparison. The second pie didn't have as much of an air bubble, but it also had less apples. There was a lot more crust, which was easier to work with, but as I'm not a fan of crust I think I might use the 9" version next time just to have less of it. I also left it in the oven too long and it came out a little darker than I intended. 

11/28/20 I made the filling and CF made the crust using tallow. I layered each apple slice individually to try to leave out as much air as possible. 
2/12/22 I used 2 pink lady, 4 granny smith and one mystery apple. I used the 9" pie crust with a smidge extra Dutch flour and it was just right. Brought as dessert to dinner party.

• dough for 9 or 10" pie (see above)
• 6-7 apples
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 2 T butter
• 1 T + 1 t cornstarch

1. Peel, core and slice the apples into 18 slices (1/4" thick or so). Mix with spices, lemon juice, salt and sugars. Let sit for 30 min to 3 hours.
2. Make the pie crust dough. Divide in half and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Drain the liquid until you get at least 1/2 c juice. Place in a large bowl and add the butter. Microwave (6-7 min) or boil down until 1/3 cup
4. Roll pastry. Line pie plate. (Let sit in fridge if you are still waiting for apples.)
5. Mix the apple slices with the cornstarch. Pour the liquid over it and mix. Put the apples in the pie crust.
6. Wet the edges of the crust and top with remaining crust.Seal and edge.
7. Make 5-2" slits for steam vents.
8. Keep pie chilled in fridge while preheating oven to 425F/220C. Place foil on lowest rack to catch drippings. (Do not place on bottom of oven)
9. Bake pie on next lowest rack for 40-55 minutes. Check after 30 min to make sure the crust isn't browning too much. If it is, cover it with foil.
10. Let cool on wire rack for 3-4 hours.