Apple Pie

Ingredients: (Crust)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: Two 9-inch pie crusts

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
227g unsalted butter – cut into small pieces – cold
1 tsp salt
4-5 tbsp ice water

Directions:
●    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined.
●    Add the cold butter. Dip hands in cold water then mix cold butter cubes into the flour mixture until it all combines into small pieces no larger than the size of peas and resembles coarse meal.
●    Gradually, add the cold water, one tablespoon at a time and keep mixing by hand, until the mixture begins to stick together and starts to clean the sides of the bowl. It usually takes me about 5 tablespoons of water, for a regular double crust, but this varies. Test the dough by grabbing some and pressing it between your fingers to see if it sticks together. If it does not, add a little more water, toss to combine, and check it again.
●    With your hands, gather the dough and press it into a ball. Divide the dough in half.
●    Place each dough ball onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk about one-half-inch thick. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight, before rolling.
●    Before rolling the dough, lightly flour the dough and place it between two large sheets of baking paper.
●    Place the rolling pin in the centre of the dough (over the baking sheets) and roll forward and back. Avoid rolling to the very edge. Lift the dough and turn it slightly, as you roll. To prevent the dough from sticking, flour it lightly after every few turns. If the edges begin to come apart, press them back together as you roll. Try to work quickly to avoid making your dough warm.
●    To measure the dough, take your pie plate and turn it over and place it on your rolled dough. The dough should be about 1-2 inches larger than your pie plate.
●    To move the dough to the plate: Lightly flour your rolling pin. Starting at the top of the dough, gently roll the dough around the rolling pin, towards you. Slide your pie plate in front of you, and then lift the rolling pin, so that you can hold the dough above your plate. Starting at the part of the plate closest to you, leave about 1-2 inches overhang in the front and then unroll the dough into the pie plate. Once the dough is in the plate, gently press the dough into the plate. Handling the dough too much or pulling on it, can cause shrinkage, so be gentle. If you notice any small holes or tears in the dough, try to lightly press them together with your finger. If necessary, take a small piece of dough from the excess and create a patch, by pressing the dough gently over the tear and smoothing it out. You can also do this if you see any thin spots. Excess dough can be trimmed. Edges can be tucked under and sealed, pinched, or pressed down with the tines of a fork.
●    Roll out the second dough and place flat in refrigerator sandwiched between two baking sheets.
●    Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, before filling and baking.

Ingredients: (Filling)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 1, 9-inch pie
¼ cup flour
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
3 medium granny smith – washed, peeled, and sliced thin
3 medium red delicious apples – washed, peeled, and sliced thin
1 Macintosh apple – washed, peeled, and sliced thin
Half a lemon – for the juice
2 tbsp unsalted butter – cold – cut into small pieces
¼ cup water
1-2 tbsp cream or milk for the top crust
1 tsp sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
●    Preheat oven to 220° C. Peel, core, and slice apples thinly, placing them in a very large bowl as you go. After slicing a few apples, squeeze a little lemon juice over them and toss to coat to prevent browning. Continue until all sliced apples are in the bowl.
●    Whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Sprinkle about half of the mixture over the apples and toss gently to coat.
●    Take out the pie pan (with crust) and the other rolled out dough from the refrigerator. Cut the second dough into strips.
●    Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the remaining flour mixture to form a paste. Add water and bring it to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
●    Carefully turn the apples into the pie dough-lined pie plate, arrange the mounding apples in the centre evenly.
●    Cover with a lattice work crust made of the strips you cut from the second dough. Tuck edges of the top crust under edges of bottom crust and pinch gently with fingertips. Crimp edges.
●    Brush the top crust lightly with cream or milk. Sprinkle with sugar.
●    Gently pour the liquid mixture over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not runoff.
●    Bake it for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 175° C. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.
●    During last 20-30 minutes of baking, cover the edges of the crust with a pie protector or some foil to prevent over-browning. You can also place a piece of foil over the whole top crust, if it appears to be browning too much during the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
●    Set the pie on a rack to cool before cutting.