Apple Pie!

I have been in the mood for desserts lately - and one of my favorites is pies. But pies come in different styles depending on the filling and whether that filling is more custard with a semi solid consistency or solid or mixed.  One of the more solid ones is apple pie and it is a standard and quite easy to make. 

"There, your sample...Mrs. Lovett's meat pies..."
but it's not! It's Apple Pie!

Pies are pies because of one thing which is very important: pie crust. Called "pate brisee" in French, pastry has to be three things: flaky, therefore delicate and lastly, flavorful to complement with the filling. In desserts, this is more sweet, in savory, this is more salty. But whatever the flavor is, the basic way of making pate brisee is still based on the balance of oils and gluten released flour paste. 

I explained before in a post on cakes that there are basic proportions in making cake batter. It is the same in pate brisee. The most important as mentioned, is the creation of a delicate flaky crust and this is achieved through the use of butter. 

Butter, being solid, has the capacity of making spaces of air within thinly rolled flour paste. Because flour paste by itself when baked is a tough structure, the rolling of this mass with butter or solid fats such as lard located in between will achieve the flakiness we desire in pie crust. 

Thus, with that in mind, butter needs to be "cut" into small pieces incorporating its solid structure in the flour then, adding the water to release the gluten of the flour, the mass transforms to a dough that is easily handled and when baked under oven heat, the butter is melts, frying the thinly rolled flour paste, achieving a crusty crunch that is pleasing to the palate. With the filling, the rest is just...well, history. 

The filling is another matter. And fillings usually work perfectly with pate brisee depending on texture contrasts.  In apple pie, the moist solid yet buttery sweet filling works well with the sweet salty crunch of the pie crust. Hungry yet? Well, let's proceed to making! 

Apple Pie 

Pie crust: 

(A tip! Remember the proportions for perfect pate brisee: 1 cup flour: 1/2 cup (therefore 1 stick) butter! For a 9-in. single crust recipe, use 1-1/2 sticks butter and 1-1/2 cups flour; for a double crust recipe, use 2 sticks butter and 2 cups flour.) 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 sticks (1/2 cup butter = 1 stick) butter 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 cup (more or less) of ICE cold water 

1. Mix the first four ingredients by using two blunt knives cutting crosswise several times about two minutes until the butter is cut into smaller pieces and evenly distributed within the flour mixture and each butter piece is just well dusted in flour. Water may be added once the butter has been cut to pea sized pieces.  
2. Adding the water slowly, incorporate by gently kneading the resulting dough with the fingers releasing the gluten of the flour thus making it easier to handle. The purpose of this is not to make the dough appear like bread dough rather to release the gluten making the mass semi-resilient and therefore flaky later on for the pie. The dough should be semi rubbery rather than the very doughy appearance that bread dough has. 
3. Divide the dough into 2/3 and 1/3. Chill the dough a bit about three to five minutes just cold enough to handle. In between two pieces of wax paper, roll the larger piece evenly to 1/4 inch thin. Line the pie pan with this dough. 
4. Fill with the filling, the recipe of which follows, then top with the rolled smaller piece, the technique of which is just the same as the larger one. Folding the overhang of the bottom piece upwards meeting the top piece, seal the dough and make some airvents on the top. 
5. Bake for an hour and let cool until ready to serve. If desired, apply some eggwash (beaten egg with about three tablespoonfuls of water) on the top with a brush, sprinkle with sugar then increase the heat to broil for a minute or two until golden brown. 

Filling: 

• 6 medium to large Granny Smith Apples 
• 3/4 cups brown sugar or white if a sweeter feel is desired 
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour 
• 1 stick of butter, cut to 1 inch pieces 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon to taste 

1. Peel and core the apples. Slice them all 1/4 inch thickness. 
2. Combine the apples, flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon and mix well until the apples are well coated with the dry ingredients. 
3. Fill the crust lined pan with the mixture as stated above.