The Best Apple Pie

7/30/2019 The Best Apple Pie

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The best apple pie

youll ever bake

By Richard BluntDave Duffy, the publisher of Backwoods Home Magazine, asked me to review someof my early recipes and see if any needed updating. After rereading a few, I selectedseveral that have undergone changes since BHM first published them. Most of thesechanges have been the result of comments and suggestions made by friends, family,and Backwoods Home readers. Over the years I've made a habit of recording thesecomments and criticisms. So, recently, I decided to review these notes and select therecipes that have generated the most comments.

To my surprise dessert recipes, especially pies, seemed to garner the most attention.The apple pie recipe I included inmy article on great American foodsin Issue #30(Nov/Dec 1994) received at least 60 suggestions and other comments. Several camefrom my wife's mother, Gertrude. On one occasion, after eating a piece of my pie at afamily Christmas dinner, she offered a few suggestions she said would make my piealmost as good as hers, if I followed her instructions. After reading that comment, Idecided that my immediate goal would be to get beyond "almost as good." Whatfollows is my latest attempt to reach this goal.

Since Thanksgiving and Christmas, two great occasions for making pies, are almostupon us, and apple season is currently at its peak, this is a great time to update thisfavorite and frequently-prepared dessert.
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Limiting gluten formation makes a better pie crust.

Over the years I have often relied on my mother's old recipe file for guidance,especially when preparing dessert recipes. Once she found a recipe she liked, shewould copy it on an index card and place it in an old mahogany cigar humidor. Fromthat day on, the selected recipe became a standard in her kitchen. She very seldommade changes to these recipes unless she had to make a substitution for an

unavailable ingredient. My mother was one of those rare individuals with a never-faillong-term memory. She never recorded any of these changes on the card. Unlike mymom, I have a terrible memory, but I am constantly revising recipes as I discoverways to improve them and when I make any changes to a recipe, I record thatchange on the recipe card. The changes to this apple pie recipe were so extensive Idecided to share them with everyone in a new article.

This revised recipe produces a pie with mounds of tender, juicy apples surroundedby a rich and flaky pastry crust. However, handing folks a new recipe that includesonly changed ingredients and an updated assembly procedure is not going to beenough. I want to make you a better cook, too, and understanding why these

changes are necessary is also important. This updated pie does not replace mymom's original. I grew up loving all of her pies, and will continue to use her originalrecipe from time to time.

My mother would make her first apple pie around the first of October, when the newcrop of New England apples appeared in the local markets. She was very selectivewhen choosing the apples for her pies. Her favorite was a tart, grayish-green applecalled the Roxbury Russet, believed to be the oldest apple bred in this country. We


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also lived in the Boston neighborhood where this apple was first planted, Roxbury,Massachusetts, and across the street from a church that had two of these trees inback. Unfortunately, this apple is not widely available on the market today, probablybecause it isn't a very attractive apple, and it only produces fruit in alternate years.Her second choice was one of the sweet varieties, usually Golden Delicious or

Braeburn. These three apples are excellent choices for a pie because they hold theirshape during baking.

Her pie crust is basic. It is made with vegetable shortening, flour, salt, and ice waterand is easy to prepare and produces reliable results. The apple filling contains abouttwo pounds of apples, sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter, and flour, and is easy toassemble and tastes great. My updated version doesn't stray far from the original,but it produces a better pie that solves most of the perceived shortcomings in theoriginal.

I live in New England and apple picking in the fall is an established tradition in my

family. There is one orchard in my area that grows Roxbury Russet apples and myfirst apple picking adventure includes a trip to this orchard to see if these apples areavailable. I hold to mother's standard of using only fresh, crisp apples in my pie, sothe Blunt family looks forward to our first fall apple picking adventure.

Last weekend, my wife Tricia, my daughter Sarah, and I went apple picking. My sons,Jason and Michael, are away pounding the books at their respective universities andmissed this annual event. As usual, after we finished picking and handing our bag ofapples to the owner for weighing, we discover that we had picked enough apples for10 pies. Of course everyone was looking at me with that, "What are going to makewith all of these apples" look on their faces. Before Sarah could voice her post-apple

picking plea, I offered my suggestion for an apple pie as a starter.

"Daddy," she said, "you're supposed to wait for me to ask that question."

This first apple picking adventure has been a family ritual for 22 years. Almost everyaspect of it has become a tradition etched in stone, including suggestions about whatto do with the apples. Speak out of turn and you will be put in your place. Iapologized for speaking out of turn and we paid for our apples and headed for home.


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My wife, Tricia, and daughter, Sarah, helped pick enough apples for 10 pies.

Immediately after unloading our apple cargo, I took both my mother's original applepie recipe and my revised version out of the working file, and began separating andpeeling enough apples to make both pies. From October through early spring alltypes of pies are favorite desserts in my house, with apple pie at the top of the list.So, determining which version of this pie would be the standard had to be decided.

Once again, the final decision would be made by the recipe review committee: mywife and my three children. Over the years they have tastefully yet methodicallydeconstructed the old standard for this favorite dessert. The most recentobservations came from Michael and Sarah last fall. We had finished dinner and Iannounced that I made apple pie for dessert. I cut everyone a piece, and, as usual,we all cleaned our plates.

After dinner, Michael wanted to know why there was a huge air spacebetween the top crust and the apple filling.

I told him that the apples lose moisture as the pie bakes, causing them toshrink.

"Oh," he said, "so that is why there is so much juice on the bottom of the pie."He also pointed out that this juice made the bottom crust a little soggy.


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Since I had always believed that a somewhat soggy bottom crust is anunavoidable consequence of making an apple pie with fresh apples, I didn'tconsider this a real problem.

A few weeks later I made another apple pie and Sarah came to me with

another observation.

"Dad," she said, "the crust on this pie is not the same as the last one. It isn'tas crispy; it also seems to be a little tough and pale."

This pie usually receives blanket approval, so these constructive criticismscaught me a little off guard. In spite of my surprise, I promised Sarah andMichael I would consider their observations and see if there was a solution.

A couple of days after my conversation with Sarah I posed these questions to

a professional baker who has a solid knowledge of baking science. He gaveme several suggestions he thought would help me improve the crust andfilling. The combination of his advice and some interesting facts I learnedwhile researching whole grain breads led me to a complete revision of mymother's apple pie recipe. The basic food science applied here is reallysimple, but the effect on the finished pie is dramatic. The most radicalchanges are in the crust recipe, so let's start there.

New never-fail pie crust

The original version of this crust formula is simple and results in an easy-to-assemble pie crust and yields predictable results. This new formula usesalmost the same amount of flour, salt, and shortening as the original recipe. Ireplaced half of the vegetable shortening with unsalted butter, which addsflavor. Also, I have added one common pastry ingredient, sugar, and one notso common ingredient, 80 proof vodka. Yes, VODKA! Okay, let's talk aboutthe vodka first.

All workable formulas for pie crust contain some brand of all-purpose flour.Depending on the brand you use, this type of flour has a protein content of

about 11 percent. Protein is essential to the formation of gluten. When makingbread, the formation of a strong gluten network is a definite plus. However,when making a pastry, like pie crust, limiting gluten formation can yield betterresults. As I explained in my last two bread articles, gluten is formed when twopartial proteins (gliadin and glutenin), present in all wheat flours, link togetherwhen water is added to the flour. When making pie crust gluten can, if notkept in check, make for a tough pie crust. I first tried to solve this problem by


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incorporating a portion of cake flour, which contains about half of the proteinof all-purpose flour, into my crust formula. The result was a crust that wassomewhat dry and had a sandy texture.

My baker friend told me that professional bakers have long understood the

need to limit gluten formation when making a pastry crust. The most efficientway to accomplish this is to carefully control the amount of water in theformula. Too much water will yield a tough crust. However, without properhydration the crust will be dry and difficult to roll. With the amount of flour inmy formula he calculated that I would need 9 tablespoons of cold liquid, andsuggested that four tablespoons of that liquid be some type of alcohol. Hispreference was 80 proof vodka. He explained that since 80 proof vodkacontains only 60 percent water, the remaining 40 percent is ethanol. Glutenwill not form in the presence of alcohol as it does with water. So fourtablespoons of vodka added only about 2 tablespoons of water to thedough, while the total liquid volume remained the same. This small, butsignificant, reduction in water volume will result in pie dough that is both easyto roll and tender when baked. If you are worried about the alcohol, itvaporizes in the oven during baking.

He told me, "Adding sugar and salt to most baked items is essential to thedevelopment of flavor. Also, adding a little lemon zest will add brightness tothe finished crust. Sugar also insures proper browning of the crust duringbaking." He went on to say, "Mixing the fat with the flour should be done intwo stages. The first mix should include all of the fat, and nearly half of theflour blended with the sugar and salt. The remaining flour can be added afterthe first batch is fully incorporated, and mixed just enough for it to becomeevenly distributed. Combining the ingredients in this manner creates smallpockets of fat that are only coated with flour. These pockets of unincorporatedfat melt when the crust is baked, resulting in crisp, flaky layers."

While working my way through the recipes in my previous bread articles, Idiscovered that scooping with a measuring cup was an unreliable method formeasuring flour. Professional bakers use a balance scale to accurately weighthe principal ingredients of a recipe, including liquids. By applying this wisdomof weighing the flour that I use in my bread recipes, I solved all of myconsistency problems with my pie crust.

I usually use my 11-cup food processor to mix pie dough. But, after talking toseveral neighbors and family members, I realize that some folks prefer astanding mixer fitted with a paddle to perform this task. Still others, like mymom, use a dough cutter to blend the fat with the flour mixture. I made this


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crust using all three methods with good results. The food processor andstanding mixer both produced excellent dough with about the same effort. Ifyou have plenty of time and don't mind a little hard labor, the dough cutterproduces dough very close to one mixed by machine.

When using a food processor or manual dough cutter, the fat must berefrigerator-cold. With the standing mixer the fat should be allowed to come toa cool room temperature. This will prevent the paddle from throwing flour allover your counter. Like any other carefully-crafted recipe, this one requires alittle more work and attention to detail than other pie crust formulas. But onceyou have mastered the technique, I am sure that you will find the extra effortrewarding when your pie comes out of the oven.

New never-fail pie crust

Ingredients:

11 oz. unbleached all-purpose flour (Note: I use King Arthur all-purpose flourin all of my baking formulas, because I believe it produces the most consistentresults.)1 tsp. table salt2 Tbsp. light brown sugar6 oz. chilled vegetable shortening, cut into -inch pieces3 oz. chilled unsalted butter, cut into -inch pieces tsp. grated lemon zest

4 Tbsp. chilled vodka5 Tbsp. ice water

Method:

1. Combine the flour with the salt and sugar in a large bowl and blend.

2. Transfer 6 ounces of this mixture to a food processor or standing mixer withthe paddle attached.

3. Add the chilled shortening and unsalted butter. Process until the doughstarts to develop uneven clumps about 15 seconds. The dough will looklike large curd cottage cheese and all of the fat will be coated with flour.

4. Scrape the bowl and evenly distribute the dough around the blade orpaddle.


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5. Add the remaining flour and pulse in short bursts until the ingredients areevenly distributed. This should take only five or six pulses or 15 to 20 secondsat medium speed with the standing mixer.

6. Empty the mixture into a medium bowl. Add the grated lemon zest to chilled

vodka and ice water. Sprinkle this mixture over the dough.

7. Using a rubber spatula begin folding the dough and pressing down on themixture after each fold. Continue folding until the dough sticks together andforms a tacky ball. You will have about 25 ounces of dough.

8. Divide the dough into two balls of equal weight, and flatten each ball into a4-inch disk. Wrap these disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at leastone hour.

The Blunt family's new favorite apple pie filling

As I said earlier, there are no wonder ingredients in this updated pie filling. Ihave doubled the amount of apples, added a little lemon zest and onetablespoon of instant tapioca. The only other flavor in this filling is groundcinnamon and white and brown sugar. Sugar performs several tasks in thisfilling. It works in cooperation with the salt to extract moisture from the apples,boosts the sweetness of the apples, and acts as a binding agent to hold thefilling together.

Let's begin with the problems I discovered in the original formula. The mostnoticeable problem, with the original pie, was the huge empty space betweenthe crust and the filling after the pie was baked. This was caused by heatextracting water from the apples during baking. The volume of this extractedwater is one reason why most two-crusted apple pies only contain about twopounds of apples. In a vain attempt to prevent this liquid from soaking thebottom crust, some form of starch thickener is traditionally added to the filling.I have tried several concoctions like plain gelatin, cornstarch mixed with lemon

juice, and a butter/flour roux with limited success. On a couple of occasions Ioverdid it with these starches and ruined the pie. This approach to thicken the

extracted liquid gave the filling a texture that made it taste like it came from acan. It really didn't do much to solve the soggy bottom crust problem.

I wasn't sure if there were any satisfactory answers to these problems, so Iwent back to the baker for advice. His answer to what I thought was acomplex problem was simple and to the point. "Double the amount of applesin the pie," he said. "Then cook the apples over low heat to extract most of the


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results of your efforts. I still love the original version of this pie, but I will admitthat this updated version is better.

New-age deep-dish apple pieNew-age deep-dish apple pie

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Golden Delicious apples2 lbs. Cortland or Granny Smith apples5 oz. granulated sugar2 oz. light brown sugar1 tsp. ground cinnamon tsp. lemon zest tsp. table salt1 tsp. lemon juice1 cup extracted apple juice (This is the juice you'll be creating when you'recooking the apples.)

1 Tbsp. instant tapioca, ground to a powder in a spice grinder or coffee mill1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tsp. of cold water (which will be used whenassembling the pie)

Method:

1. Peel and core the apples, then cut them into -inch slices.


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2. In a large bowl combine the apples, granulated sugar, brown sugar,cinnamon, lemon zest, and table salt. Gently toss this mixture with the apples.

3. Place the apples in a large Dutch oven, cover and cook the apples overmedium heat, stirring frequently, until the apples are just tender and still hold

their shape. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes. The juice being extractedfrom the apples should be maintained at a gentle simmer. Adjust the heat upor down as necessary.

4. Transfer the apples and juice to a large rimmed cookie sheet and cool toroom temperature. This will take about 30 minutes.

5. While the apples are cooling, heat the oven to 425 F and place analuminum foil-covered rimmed cookie sheet on the middle rack.

6. Drain the juice from the apples through a large colander set over a largebowl. Gently shake the colander to extract as much juice as possible. (Thiswill be your "extracted apple juice" listed in the ingredients.)

7. If you haven't done it already, grind the instant tapioca to a fine powder in aspice grinder or coffee grinder used for this purpose.

8. Combine one cup of the extracted apple juice and the lemon juice with theinstant tapioca in a small sauce pan and mix well. Bring this mixture to asimmer while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, about two to three

minutes after it starts to simmer.

9. Cool this mixture for about five minutes and gently mix with the cooledapples.

Assembling and baking the pie

Let's put this pie together and bake it to find out if all this new-age scienceworks.

1. Reduce the oven heat to 400 F.

2. Remove one of the chilled dough disks from the refrigerator, place it on agenerously-floured work surface, and roll it into a 12-inch circle.


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3. Gently drape the rolled dough on the rolling pin and transfer it to a nine-inchpie plate. Position the dough so that there is a one-inch overhang around theedge.

4. Working around the circumference of the dough, gently press the dough

into the bottom contour of the plate. Then put the dough-lined pie plate in therefrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

5. After 20 minutes, remove the pie plate from the refrigerator and transfer thecooled apple mixture to the pie plate. Return the filled pie to the refrigerator tokeep cool.

6. Remove the second disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll into a 10-inch circle on a floured work surface. Remove the filled pie from therefrigerator and transfer the rolled dough disk to the pie, leaving an even one-

inch overhang around the plate. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crustsfirmly together to seal the pie. Trim away excess dough with a sharp knife. Cutfour or five two-inch slits in the top of the pie with the same knife for vents.

7. Brush the entire surface of the pie with the beaten egg/water mixture.

8. Set the pie on the preheated cookie sheet and bake until the crust starts tobrown about 30 minutes.

9. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F and continue baking until the pie is

golden brown and the filling is bubbling

about 25 to 30 minutes.

10. Remove the baked pie from the oven, place it on a wire rack, and cool itfor at least two hours.

Please give this apple pie a try, but don't abandon your old standard recipe, ifyou have one. As my son, Jason, says, "Apple pie is the best and it is almostimpossible to make a bad one."

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The Best Apple Pie