Classic Apple Pie

 

Was it a perfect apple pie? No. Absolutely no. I promised to tell you about it no matter how it went, though, so here are some words on the subject.

I maintain that the best and most important part of an apple pie is the apples. That being said, I really don’t care if they are the perfect baking apples that soften just right without slumping into sauce. I wouldn’t mind if they still had some crunchy bite to them even after being cooked. I mostly just want them to taste great, to have a well-balanced, warming sugar-and-spice accompaniment, and I’m much happier if they came from a tree in the local area. There’s just some kind of fresh punch unique to new-crop apples, even if they’re baked in a pie.

Also, though, the baked fruit in a fruit pie is even better if it is encased in a great crust. I’m not even going to say perfect. I’m not going to say professionally fussy. Great is good enough. That’s an area, however, in which my baking is kind of meh. (I swear, I used to be better at this!) It’s not because I don’t understand the subtle nuances of great pastry. I know that the butter (or other fat) needs to be kept cold and to end up in flaky layers of not-too-wet flour. That flour also should not be over processed so that too much gluten develops, making a crust that isn’t crisp and doesn’t flake, and, at worst, is tough or gummy. I know that pie crusts should be egg washed so that they bake up to a lacquered golden brown.

 

My excuse? I baked this pie on a Monday afternoon/evening after having escaped The Day Job early. I had put in too many hours on too many days and was pretty much exhausted, bleary of eye, weak of leg, apathetic of perfection. I wanted apple pie, not the experience of making a perfect one.

It was still good, of course. It was apple pie. Classic, double crust. Lots and lots of local apples, enough, but not too much sugar, plenty of cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it filled the niches and hit the points that apple pie ought to: homemade, delicious, warm, and comforting. Utterly successful in the representation of early autumn. A warm sweater in anticipation of sweater weather.

 

Would it have been better if I hadn’t added too much water to the crust, and processed the dough too long, or if I had egg washed it and baked it longer to achieve a crisper texture and lustrous golden hue? Probably. Do I need to evaluate my life so that I can make changes that allow for fulfilling, perfect-pie making experiences? Probably. Right now, this is what is real. It is also what is good.

There are lots of other people on the internet that strive for perfection in things like this. They are wonderful. They are inspirational. Maybe some of them are even perfect. I will leave The Perfect Apple Pie to them. Mine will do for now.

Classic Double-Crust Apple Pie

Based on a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

It is best to use “baking apples,” that is apples that get pleasantly soft but hold their shape when baked. I used the Wealthy variety of locally-grown apples, which work pretty well. Granny Smith apples are usually reliable if you do not have a go-to favorite. Personally, I do not mind if the apples do not cook perfectly in my pie.

For the crust:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon fine salt

11 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

About ½ cup ice water

For the filling:

3 pounds apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Egg wash (beaten egg mixed with water or cream), if desired

1. To make the crust: combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse until the butter is in pea-size, flour-coated pieces.

2. Add about 4 tablespoons of the ice water. Pulse to distribute. Continue adding ice water about 1 tablespoon at a time, processing and adding water until the dough just begins to form a ball and holds together when firmly squeezed.

3. Press the dough together with your hands to form a large ball. Divide the ball into two equal portions. Form each portion into a disk and wrap well with plastic wrap. Chill until firm, about 2 hours. (Or chill until needed for about 2 days or wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.)

4. Preheat oven to 375 F. On a well-floured surface roll one portion of the crust dough into a circle about 12-inches in diameter. Drape into a 9-inch pie plate. Arrange to fit without stretching, allowing excess to drape over the edge of the plate.

5. In a large bowl combine the filling ingredients. Mix together to coat the apples well. Pile the apple mixture into the pastry-lined pie plate. It will be very full.

6. On a well-floured surface, roll the second pastry dough disk into a 12-inch circle. Cover the filling with the pastry. Crimp the edges of the crust together, sealing in the apples. Press the edges into a decorative shape if desired. Cut a few slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the crust with egg wash if using

7. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any overflowing juices. Bake at 375 F for 1 hour to 70 minutes, or until the apples are soft and the crust is golden brown. Check after about 40 minutes. If the crust seems to be darkening too rapidly, cover the pie with foil.

8. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature (or re-warm cooled pie slices in the microwave.)

Makes about 10 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Apple Turnovers with Dried Fruit, Pear Apple Crumble Pie, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

One year ago: Pear and Blackberry Galette

Coming soon: Tomatillo Chickpea Curry, a new apple cake, and World Vegetarian Day….

Rhubarb Custard Pie

This might not be the prettiest dessert to appear in a photograph. My continued failure to snap shots of it in full daylight probably didn’t help that much, either. (What can I say? I tend to eat dessert in the evening.) But one bite of this somewhat less attractive duckling will reveal its swan nature. If you like rhubarb, that is.

Instead of a rhubarb studded custard, the filling for this pie is really a large pile of well-sweetened rhubarb held together by a small amount of custard. It’s kind of pie magic, really. Rhubarb is notoriously juicy and often, at least in my experience, makes for runny or gooey desserts (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) This little bit of custard, just two eggs and a splash of milk in a 9-inch double-crusted pie, corrals the unruly rhubarb, making it stand high in a cohesive, cobbled wall in every slice.

It’s also fabulously delicious. Again, that is if you like rhubarb. It loses none of its perky, tart character, but bakes into soft, fruity bites enhanced by brown sugar, a whiff of cinnamon and just a splash of vanilla. I went with the brown sugar because I was out of white sugar (?!), and knew it was good in this rhubarb compote. I have no regrets about the brown sugar, nor the bit of vanilla I also added (again, inspired by the compote.) This pie is somewhat rich (hey, its custard encased in two pie crusts), so I’d suggest being serious about wanting dessert before diving in. The tart fruitiness of the rhubarb does keep it at least a little bit light on the palate, however, and the amount by which it outweighs the custard makes it feel like a fruit pie rather than a heavy custard or cream pie.

While I had plenty of fresh rhubarb from my own plants to use, according to the original recipe, you could use frozen rhubarb. The authors suggest you let it stand in the sugar mixture (Step 2 in the recipe below) until partially thawed (15-30 minutes) and bake it an extra 25 minutes (Step 5). This is a big pie for two people to eat, so I won’t be making it again right away (the leftovers have been keeping well in the refrigerator), but if I ever do get a chance to try it with frozen rhubarb, I’ll update the recipe with suggested changes.

You could use any double-crust pastry for this pie, including unbaked store-bought pie crusts. Actually, making the pastry and slicing the rhubarb are the most difficult parts of this recipe, so buying crusts might just be a good idea. I made an all-butter crust with some whole wheat pastry flour and I whipped it up in the food processor to save some labor. It turned out to be one of my best attempts at pie crust, so I’m glad I made the effort. It held together well and made a pretty fantastic case for this really fantastic custard-wrapped rhubarb filling.

I really think this is my new favorite rhubarb dessert. I was thrilled by the full flavor and pleasantly surprised by the sturdy texture. It’s a very happy spring dessert, or perhaps a dessert with which to say “Happy Spring"...and if you don't happen to like rhubarb, never fear. The strawberries are here early this year!!

Rhubarb Custard Pie

Adapted from Midwest Living magazine

See the text above for suggestions on using frozen rhubarb.

Remember, this pie bakes for nearly an hour and requires 4 hours of cooling time, so plan accordingly!

Pastry for a double-crust pie (I used the Whole Wheat Pastry recipe below)

4 cups fresh rhubarb, thinly sliced

1 ½ cups light brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. On a floured surface, roll out half of the pastry (one of the prepared disks from the recipe below) into about a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick, or unroll one packaged pie pastry. Gently drape the pastry into a 9-inch pie plate, arranging it so that it fits well, and being sure not to stretch it. Roll out the second pastry disk the same way as the first (or unroll a second prepared pastry). Set aside.

2. Place the sliced rhubarb in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, and toss to coat the rhubarb.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract until the eggs are well beaten. Pour over the rhubarb mixture and stir to combine evenly.

4. Pour or spoon the rhubarb mixture into the pastry-lined pie plate. Lay the second crust over the filling, being careful not to stretch it. Press the excess crust together at the rim of the pie plate. Trim if there is too much excess. Crimp, or flute as desired. (I don’t do anything fancy.) Cut a few slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape.

5. Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to keep it from overbrowning in the oven. Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes. Remove the foil from the crust. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack. Cool at least 4 hours.

Makes at least 8 servings. I think it’s a good idea to refrigerate the leftovers, which are still pretty good after a couple days.

Whole Wheat Pastry

This is a food-processor method for pastry. You could cut in the butter and mix in the flour by hand if desired.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ teaspoon fine salt

11 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup ice water, plus more as needed

1. Place the flours, salt and butter pieces in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the butter is cut into pieces the size of small peas that are well-coated with flour.

2. Add about 2/3 cup water and pulse until the mixture can be squeezed together to make a crumbly dough. Add more water if needed.

3. Remove the dough from the processor and divide into two equal balls. Firmly press the balls into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or until ready to use. (I ended up chilling mine for a whole day.)

Make enough pastry for 1 double-crust pie or 2 single-crust pies.

Other recipes like this one: Rhubarb Custard Bars, RhubarbGinger Galette

One year ago: Wheat Berries with Bacon, Arugula and Tomato

Blind Baking

Blind baking pie crusts, or baking them in the pan before filling them with something that needs to be baked for less time than the crust or not at all, is a little more than slamming an unbaked crust all by itself into the oven and hoping for the best. A little more, but still not difficult.

I use this technique to make quiches and things that are a lot like quiches and the Ham and Onion Pie with Rye Crust I made recently. Well, frankly, I blind bake crusts when the recipe I’m following tells me to do so and lays out the instructions for when and how long to do it. You may, however, come across recipes that call for a fully-baked or partially-baked crust (although according to Joy of Cooking, fully-baked is usually a better option for avoiding soggy crusts in almost all circumstances.) If a pie or tart is filled with uncooked custard, like a quiche, you can bet it’ll call for a blind baked crust. If the pie filling, like jam or a cooked pudding, custard or curd, needs no cooking at all, you can also count on blind baking before loading up the pie.

In my recent savory pie adventure, I tried a variation on a basic pie crust in which I added stone-ground rye flour. It went pretty well for a whim, turning out crispy and crunchy. Its whole-grain nature was apparent but the crust was still flaky and flavorful and held the pie filling as it was supposed to. I’ll post the recipe for the pie soon, but today I’ll give you the crust recipe as well as the details for blind baking.

Most of the time, blind baking involves getting the crust dough nicely into the pie or tart pan, lightly pricking it with a fork, lining it with foil, weighing it down with something and baking it in a hot oven. The foil and weights are then removed and the crust is baked a little longer, usually “until done,” which I’ve taken to mean browned, dry-looking and no longer doughy. Times and temperatures tend to vary slightly with the recipes, and you should probably follow the recipe writer’s instructions (chances are that they are a professional, unlike me). If you need a baked crust, however, and your recipe assumes you already know how to do that, you should get good results with the procedure I outline below.

Just a few words on pie weights: You can purchase pie weights, which usually look like a handful of ceramic or metal marbles. I have a set of ceramic weights, which were inexpensive and quite useful. If you don’t want to buy something that seems to have so few uses, many cooks, chefs and writers recommend using dry beans or rice, or even an identically sized pie pan (although the pan would ruin any decorative edge you put on your crust). I tried using beans once. They did the job, but I decided the ceramic weights were worth the tiny investment because the beans scorched in the oven, stinking up the place. Also, the beans were then inedible, so I felt like I had just wasted perfectly good food. Still, they are something that you might have in your kitchen if you find yourself with a burning desire to blind bake a crust.

The crust I made for the Ham and Onion Pie with Rye Crust was finished slightly differently than in the procedure below. Those details will be given with the pie recipe. This procedure will give you a fully baked crust that’s ready for filling.


Blind Baked Pie Crust
The Rye Pie Crust Dough recipe below is shown in the photos for this procedure.

1 single-crust recipe of pie dough
nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll the dough into about a 12-inch circle. Gently lift and place it into a 9-inch pie pan, being careful to drape it into place and not stretch it. Gently prick the crust all over with a fork. You just want to make little marks, not stab through to the pan.

2. Spray nonstick cooking spray on one side of a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the crust. Line the crust with the foil, cooking spray side down. Place pie weights on top of the foil.

3. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights, trying not to burn yourself or spill the hot weights everywhere.

4. Return the crust to the oven and bake at 400 F about 5-8 minutes more or until the crust is golden brown, and looks dry rather than doughy. Set on a wire rack and proceed as directed in your pie recipe.

Makes 1 9-inch baked pie crust.


Rye Pie Crust Dough

½ cup (about 2 ½ ounces or about 65 g) stone ground rye flour
½ cup (about 2 ½ ounces or about 65 g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon fine salt
5 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
scant 1/3 cup ice water, plus more if needed

1. Combine rye flour, all-purpose flour and salt in a large bowl. Sift together or stir well with a whisk to combine.

2. Add butter pieces and cut into the mixture using a pastry blender, knives or your hands, until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of flour-coated butter are larger than peas.

3. Add the scant 1/3 cup ice water. Gently work the water into the flour and butter mixture until most of the flour is moistened and the dough holds together when squeezed. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary. Try not to overwork the dough, and do not knead it.

4. When the dough has come together, form it into a ball, then flatten it into a smooth disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. The dough will be very stiff if thoroughly chilled, but still somewhat sticky. It is best to roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap.

Makes 1 crust for a 9-inch pie pan.

Other recipes like this one: Basic Pie Crust, Whole Wheat Pastry, Easy Cream Cheese Pastry

One year ago: Pasta with Chickpeas, Shrimp and Spring Greens

Two years ago: Whole Wheat Pasta Dough and Spinach-Ricotta Pasta Filling, Simple Tomato-Garlic Sauce