Homemade Apple Pie

By ForkAndTheCork

Ingredients

• Crust:
• Combination Butter and Shortening Crust
• Ingredients for one double-crust 9 inch or 10 inch pie:
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup (a stick and a half) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup of all-vegetable shortening (8 Tbsp)
• 6-8 Tablespoons ice water
• Egg Wash
• A lovely coating for a pie can be achieved with a simple egg wash.
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
• 1 large egg yolk
• Beat egg yolk with cream and brush on the surface of the pie with a pastry brush.
• Filling
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (Granny Smith)
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Preparation

Step 1

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse 4 times. Add shortening in tablespoon sized chunks, and pulse 4 more times. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no bigger than peas. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over flour mixture. Pulse a couple times. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, keep adding water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing once after each addition, until the mixture just begins to clump together.


Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4 inch wide disks. Do not over-knead the dough! Dust the disks lightly with flour, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 2 days before rolling out.


After the dough has chilled in the refrigerator for an hour, you can take it out to roll. If it is too stiff, you may need to let it sit for 5-10 minutes at room temperature before rolling. Sprinkle a little flour on a flat, clean work surface and on top of the disk of dough you intend to roll out. Using a rolling pin, apply light pressure while rolling outwards from the center of the dough. Every once in a while you may need to gently lift under the dough (a pastry scraper works great for this) to make sure it is not sticking. You have a big enough piece of dough when you place the pie tin or pie dish upside down on the dough and the dough extends by at least 2 inches all around.



When the dough has reached the right size, gently fold it in half. Lift up the dough and place it so that the folded edge is along the center line of the pie dish. Gently unfold. Do not stretch the dough.

If you are making a double crust pie, roll out the second disk of dough. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Use a kitchen scissors to trim the overhang to an inch over. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Finish the double crust by pressing against the edges of the pie with your finger tips or with a fork.


Use a sharp knife to cut vents into the top of the pie crust, so the steam has a place to escape while the pie is cooking. Optional Before scoring, you may want to paint the top of your crust with an egg wash (this will make a nice finish).


Heat oven to 425°F.

In large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling.

Cover edge of pie with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.



Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm if desired.