Apple pie with foolproof pastry
Makes one 9-inch pie
My friend and co-author Julie Riven makes this pie for all fall holidays. The recipe comes from her Montreal grandmother, who made it for decades. In Julie’s family, this high pie with a very crisp crust is known as “Granny Fanny’s Apple Pie.” We adapted the pastry recipe for a food processor. Adding an egg to the dough makes rolling and patching easier. The vinegar in the egg helps keep the pastry flaky. The instructions here call for a lattice top. Cut the strips with a long sharp knife, a pizza cutter, or a ravioli cutter. Place the second set of strips diagonally on the first, then brush them with milk and sprinkle with sugar before baking.
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PASTRY
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons ice water
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar Extra flour (for sprinkling)
Extra flour (for sprinkling)
1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to blend them. Add the butter and work in on-off motions until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Stir the ice water into the egg. Add the liquids to the processor and pulse just until the mixture forms large clumps (not a ball).
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and cut through it with a pastry blender or blunt knife to distribute the moisture. Shape the dough into 2 pieces. Wrap each in foil and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
FILLING
8 medium cooking apples (such as Cortland, Mutsu, or Golden Delicious)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons whole milk (for brushing)
Extra sugar (for sprinkling)
1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a large rimmed baking sheet.
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2. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Slice them thinly. In a bowl, toss the apples, sugar, lemon juice, flour, and salt.
3. On a lightly floured counter, roll out 1 round of dough, lift it onto the rolling pin, and ease it into the pie pan. Trim the edges, folding under a hem of pastry all around. Pile the apples into the pastry, mounding them.
4. Roll out the other round of dough on a lightly floured counter. Cut 11 or 12 strips of dough. Lay 5 strips on the pie, setting the longest ones in the center, the shorter ones at the edges. Set the remaining strips on a diagonal to the first set. Trim the edges of the strips so they are even with the rim of the pastry. Crimp the edges or use a fork to press a pattern all around the rim. Brush the pastry all over with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Set the pie on the baking sheet. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 50 minutes or until the juices are bubbling at the edges and the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer. (Total baking time is 65 minutes.) Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Sheryl Julian. Adapted from “The Way We Cook”