Classic Apple Pie

Nothing says fall more than a slice of classic apple pie, does it? This one features our new Flourist Whole Grain Einkorn Flour, which lends a deep rich flavour and distinct texture to the pastry. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, no one will complain. 

Classic Apple Pie

Einkorn Pastry Dough 
1 2⁄3 (230g) cup Flourist Sifted Red Spring Wheat Flour
1 cup (138g) Flourist Whole Grain Einkorn Flour
1 cup (227g) butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ice cold water, or as needed

Yield: dough for 1 double crust 9-inch pie

Tip: One of the keys to flaky pastry is keeping all the ingredients, including your tools, as cold as possible. Leave them to chill in the refrigerator before you start your work. 

Filling
2.5 lbs apples (we like using a mixture of Cortland, Golden Delicious and MacIntosh), about 6-8 large apples
2 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cups (101g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (54g) sugar
3 tbsp (23g) cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp (14g) butter, cold and cubed
1 egg white
turbinado or demura sugar for sprinkling

Make the dough
Combine flours and salt in a large metal mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Mix apple cider vinegar and water and keep chilled.

Add cubed butter to the flour and toss lightly with your hands to coat. Using your fingers, press butter into flat sheets, tossing with flour as you work to make sure each piece of butter is well coated. You want to aim for butter pieces that range from the size of a dime to a quarter.

A tablespoon at a time, drizzle the vinegar-water mixture along the side of the bowl, allowing it to trickle down into the flour mixture. Use your hand or a fork to flick the flour mixture towards the center of the bowl, rotating the bowl as you go. Repeat with 4 tbsp of liquid. The flour mixture should start forming larger clusters.

After adding 5 tbsp of liquid, take a handful of the flour mixture in your hands and squeeze gently. If it easily holds together without falling apart, enough liquid has been added. If it easily breaks apart, continue adding 1 tbsp of liquid at a time, checking the consistency after each addition until the just dough holds together. Add liquid sparingly.

Form into two circular discs and individually wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Assemble and bake
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly butter a pie pan.

Remove dough from the fridge. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll one disc into a circle about 13 inches wide and approximately 1⁄8-1/4" thick. Gently ease the dough into the prepared pie pan, lightly pressing it into the contours of the pan and making sure there is about 1/2 inch over hang all around. If any part tears or comes away, simply press the dough back together. Place in refrigerator and repeat rolling with the second disc, placing the rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and into the refrigerator.  

Peel and core the apples, slicing them into 1/2 inch slices. Place in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix together both sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. 

To make an egg wash, lightly whip up the egg white with 15ml water with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the pie dough with egg wash (this helps to protect the dough from becoming soggy during baking).

Lightly toss the apples with the sugar-cornstarch mixture and mound into the pie pan, arrange as necessary to make the apples more compact. Dot with 1 tbsp of cubed butter. 

If you want a solid pie top, place the second rolled out pie dough directly on top of the apples. Trim the pastry dough as necessary, you want 1 inch over hang altogether. Fold the top layer of dough under the bottom layer, tucking the two layers together. Decorate the edge as you wish - pressing with fork tines, fluting, crimping etc. With a paring knife or kitchen shears, cut steam vents on the top dough. If you want a lattice pie top, here is an easy step by step slideshow. 

Place the whole pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes, the longer the better (We've left it up to 5 hours before).

Preheat oven to 400°F. When ready to bake, generously brush the surface of the pie and the edges with egg wash and liberally sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 60-90 minutes until deep golden brown. Let cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack, serve warm or at room temperature. 

Tip: Re-roll scraps of left over pie dough and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut into desired shapes and bake until golden brown. Alternatively, spread your favourite jam on top, roll up the dough and slice into bite size pieces before baking.