Apple Pie

'Tis the season for apple pie. Plenty of good apples available from local orchards. I went with a lattice pattern (by request) instead of a solid top. It was a bit more work, but I think it was worth it.

Start by preparing the pie dough. Put 9 oz (about 2 cups) flour into a medium-sized bowl, and add 8 oz cold butter, cut into thin slices, and a good pinch of salt. With your hands, rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until only a few large flecks are visible. Now add 1 egg, beaten, made up to 1/2 cup in volume with ice cold water (I use cold water and put the egg-water mix in the freezer for a few minutes while I rub in the butter). Knead the liquid into the flour for no more than a minute. The dough will be wet. Sprinkle over some flour and pat into a rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (or as long as a day if you like; you can also freeze the dough for months).

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut the rectangle in two. Replace one half in the fridge, and roll the other out into a thin round (use as much flour as needed to avoid it sticking to your work surface). Make sure it is big enough to line your pie pan. I used a 9 inch pan. Grease the pan with butter first, then lay the pastry in it, cutting around the edge to get rid of any overhang. Now put the pan in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

You will need a bunch of apples. I used 3 lb of Gala apples. You can use whatever kind of apple you desire, but you may not need as much as 3 lb - my pie was a little stuffed. I think it would have worked with just over 2 lb of apples.

Peel, core and slice your apples. Work quickly to avoid browning. I put the slices into a bowl and sprinkled them with a little lemon juice, then added about 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and a few grindings of fresh nutmeg (or a shake of ground). You could also add a small pinch of salt. If the apples are too juicy, add more flour; if they are too tart, add more sugar. Pile the apples into the pie crust and set aside. Roll out the rest of your dough (add your scraps from the shell also) to about the same thickness as you did the shell and cut long strips of roughly equal width. Using a finger dipped in water to 'glue' the strips to the pie shell, make your criss-cross lattice over the apples by alternating the directions of the strips. I started by going across the middle and worked my way towards the edges but it doesn't really matter which order you do it in.

Once you are finished assembling the pie, tidy up the edge of the crust and set your pan on a cookie sheet or similar (to collect any juice that might leak from the pie). Bake at 425 F for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F for another 30 minutes or so, until the pastry is nicely golden and the apples are soft. Allow to cool most of the way to room temperature before serving, with cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Note 1 - This is my favorite pie dough recipe. It is based on one in 'A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes' by David Tanis. An awesome cookbook.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 9 oz = 260g; 8 oz = 225g; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 9 inches = 23 cm; 3 lb = 1.4 kg; 2 lb =  900g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 425 F = 220 C; 350 F = 180 C.