Apple Pie & Dough from Scratch

The saying “as American as apple pie” describes things that represent the best of American culture. People use this expression when talking about things like blue jeans, baseball and rock-n-roll music.

A HISTORY STORY: Apple Pie

 An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese.

Apple pie is a longstanding symbol of America, but the dessert didn't actually come from America, and neither did the apples. Apples are native to Asia, and have been in America about as long as Europeans have.

PIE CRUST

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or use 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1 tablespoon sugar, optional

• 1 cup (230 grams) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 sticks)

• 4 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Instructions by making it by hand

1. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar (optional) to a medium bowl. Stir 2 to 3 times until combined.

2. Scatter butter cubes over flour and mix briefly with a fork or spatula to coat the butter with flour.

3. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender, working mixture until the flour has a coarse, mealy texture similar to fresh bread crumbs. About 1 – 2 minutes.

4. Add remaining 1 cup of flour. Work butter and flour with the pastry blender until flour is evenly distributed. About 20 seconds. (Dough should look crumbly with pea-sized pieces).

5. Sprinkle ice water over the mixture — start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until dough comes together.

6. Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut ball in half then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using).

PIE FILLING

Ingredients Pie filling

• 6 cup thinly sliced, peeled apples (6 medium)

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly against side and bottom.

2. In large bowl, gently mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pie plate. Top with second crust. Wrap excess top crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal; flute. Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch wide strips of foil after first 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving.