The Apple of my Pie.

Makes one 9 inch (23 cm) pie.

Serve hot or cold. On its own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of softly whipped cream, or with a generous slice of sharp cheddar cheese.

There are two elements to making an apple pie; the pastry and the apples.

For the Pie Crust:

-2 1/2 cups (350 grams) refined flour

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

-2 tablespoon (30 grams) granulated white sugar

-1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces

-1/4 to 1/2 cup (60 - 120 ml) ice water

Method:
In a food processor, place the flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds).
Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour. 

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a large sheet of plastic wrap. And then place another sheet on top. Roll the dough between these two sheets (I saw Rachel Allen do this, and it’s a brilliant way to stop the pastry from sticking to either the table top or rolling pin). Roll the pastry into a 12 inch (30 cm) circle.  Peel off the top of the plastic wrap, place the upturned pie pan on the rolled out pastry. Then flip the pastry into the mold. Now simply peel the 2^nd plastic sheet off the pastry. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. 

Then take the second round of pastry and roll it into a 12 inch (30 cm) circle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. 

WARNING: Making apple pie in an Indian summer is a nightmare.  Do not even attempt to do it unless your cooking space is air conditioned. That’s because you need the butter in the pastry to stay butter, and not become ghee. When you use cold butter, the butter breaks apart into little pieces throughout the flour--they basically stay separate.  Using cold butter leads to a flakier pie crust. The little bits of butter melt away in baking, leaving little pockets. That is the flakiness. When you use warm butter, the butter kind of melds with the flour. This also happens when the dough becomes too warm later, despite you using cold butter initially. Making it a nightmare to roll…and leading to a flat crust. The second the
dough becomes warm, pop it back into the fridge. Do not over-handle it or the warmth from your fingers will warm the dough up!

Anyway, while the pastry is chilling in the fridge, make the apple filling.

For the Apple filling:

-1 kg apples (about 6 large), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 8 cups (2 L). I like to use a mix of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples because they don’t turn into mush during baking.

-1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

-1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar

-1 tablespoon lemon juice/apple cider vinegar

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

-1 1/2 tablespoons (15 grams) cornstarch

Method:

Once you have peeled, cored and sliced the apples, the next step is to marinate them in sugar, vinegar, salt and cinnamon.  Let this sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to three hours. This is to infuse flavour as well as draw out the liquid from the apples.

WARNING: If you skip this step, as the pie bakes and the water will evaporate from the apples, causing them to shrink and you often end up with a large gap between the baked apples and the top crust.

Let the apples drain for about 15-30 minutes or until you have about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of juice. Take a nonstick saucepan, and then strain in the collected juices and the 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of unsalted butter. Place atop stove and boil the liquid, on medium, about 5 to 7 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about 1/3 cup (80 ml) and is syrupy and lightly caramelized. 

Transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl and toss them with the cornstarch.
Then pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine. The result is a delicious, slightly caramel flavoured apple pie.

Time to assemble and bake!

Remove the top pastry crust from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes so it has time to soften. 

Pour the apple pix into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the apples. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make five- 2-inch (5 cm) slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place the oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking sheet on the rack before preheating the oven. Set the pie on the sheet and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices start to bubble through the slits and the apples feel tender (not mushy) when a toothpick or sharp knife is inserted through one of the slits. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with a foil ring to prevent over browning after about 30 minutes. If you don't have one, use aluminium foil. 

Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-4 hours before cutting. PLEASE RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CUT INTO IT RIGHT AWAY.  Fruit pies need several hours to set so that when you finally cut into them the fruit is juicy but these juices will not run. (Just like resting meat so the juices get reabsorbed.)

Stores at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Stores in fridge for up to a week, but can’t guarantee it won't be eaten up before that :)