Apple Pie

Apple Pie

Based on Deb Perelman's recipe in Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

Makes

  • ½ cup (95 grams) light or dark brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea or table salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 kg apples (a mix of Granny Smith, Russet, Cortland, Mutsu)
  • 3 tablespoons tapioca flour or starch
  • 1 portion [pie crust](../pie-crust) (no need to make ahead)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)
  • Coarse or raw sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Make filling

  1. Combine sugars, salt, and spices in your absolutely largest bowl.
  2. Peel, halve, and core your apples and cut them into ½ cm slices, adding them right to the big bowl. Toss to coat the slices as much as possible.
  3. Set aside for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature.

Prepare crust

  1. Follow the [instructions to make the crust dough](../pie-crust)
  2. Once the dough is chilled, roll out the first half on a well-floured counter to a 30 cm circle (see [tips here](https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pie-crust-103-rolling-and-crimping/)). Transfer it to 9-inch standard (not deep-dish) pie plate. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim overhang to one inch all around. Refrigerate dish and dough until needed.
  3. For a regular pie lid, roll out the second dough half into the same sized circle, transfer it to a large parchment-lined baking sheet and chill this as well until needed.

Assemple pie

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F / 205°C
  2. Stir tapioca starch into apple pie filling.
  3. Pour filling into prepared bottom crust and use your hands to pack and heap those softened apples as mounded as you can get them, then add a few more. Pour any juices that have accumulated carefully over apples; do not leave any behind.
  4. Either place your second pie dough round over the filling/ Trim the top crust to the edge of the pie dish. Fold the overhang from the lower crust over to form a thick rim, and crimp it together with your fingers or a fork to seal it.
  5. Brush top crust with egg, then sprinkle with sugar if desired. Cut a few vents in it with a sharp knife.

Bake

  1. Put the pie on a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet (for easier cleanup).
  2. Bake for 75 minutes, turning once or twice for even color. If your pie is browning too fast, take a large square of foil, mold it over the back of a large bowl into a convex dome, then use that to cover the pie in the oven for the remaining baking time so it doesn’t brown much further.
  3. Pie is done when juices are bubbling visibly through the vents (the internal temperature will be 90°C).