Baking Classics
The Technique
Apple Pie
Homemade double crust apple pie. It doesn’t get any more patriotic than that. A sweet, tart mix of apple varieties along with a simple upper crust pastry design that salutes our great nation will have you star struck. No diamond in the rough here but a miniature cutter is used to create the Americana-style pattern in this Quilted Star All-American Apple Pie sure to spark fireworks at your backyard celebration. Two recipes of the Buttermilk-Cornmeal Pastry Dough are used to pull off this classic dessert with ease. Follow my detailed guide, How To Make A Quilted Star Upper Crust Pastry, for tips on making the template inspired by the quilting techniques & the ladies who craft them. This pie focuses on Granny Smith & Gala beauties, however you can switch the varieties if you’ like to. The apples are cooked on the stovetop before going into the oven to keep the pie crust looking it’s best & to be certain the lovely design holds its shape. For more information on choosing the right combination of apples for baked desserts, be sure to have a peak at The Baking Apple Primer. Fall in line & get ready to make your best All-American apple pie to date.
Quilted Star All-American Apple Pie
makes 8 servings
Cooking the apples ahead of time will cut the bake time down considerably & prevent the crust from getting to dark. The combination of the apple varieties offers sweet & tart notes that will balance the flavor flawlessly. Sauté them in stages to retain the texture that results in a quality, well-balanced homemade pie.
2 recipes Buttermilk-Cornmeal Pastry Dough
2 1/2 lbs Granny Smith apples {about 4 large}
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
1 lb Gala apples {about 2 large}
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Natural vanilla bean ice cream
Prepare the two recipes of Buttermilk-Cornmeal Pastry Dough according to the Quilted Star Double Pie Crust instructions. Meanwhile, peel, core & cut the Granny Smith apples into 1/2-inch pieces {about 7 cups}. Toss them with 2 Tbsp lemon juice in a large bowl. Peel, core & cut the Gala apples into 1/2-inch pieces {about 3 1/2 cups}. Toss the them together with the remaining 1 Tbsp lemon juice in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over Medium heat. Add the Granny Smith apples with the lemon juice, the brown sugar & the cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Sprinkle the Gala apples with the flour & toss the mixture until well coated. Fold the Gala apple mixture into the Granny Smith apple mixture & cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the apple mixture thickens & smooths out. Don’t be alarmed as the flour will slightly clump but it will smooth out as the apples cook & once baked in the pie. Turn off the heat when approximately 1 Tbsp of liquid remains. Cool completely, about 1 hour. The apples will release a little additional liquid as the filling cools.
Remove both of the prepped dough discs for the Quilted Star Double Pie Crust from the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature until pliable, about 15 minutes. Remove the top piece of plastic wrap from The Bottom Crust Pastry & invert into a lightly greased 10-inch pie plate. Remove the second piece of plastic wrap. Fit the dough down into the pie plate. Lift the excess dough hanging over the sides & lightly press it outwards onto the lip edge. Add the cooled apples to the pie plate. Brush the pastry edges with the egg white.
Flip the Quilted Star Upper Crust Pastry onto the bottom of a half sheet pan so that the pretty, cut side of the design is facing down. Remove the plastic wrap, then flip the pastry again onto the bottom of another well floured half sheet pan. Gently slide the upper crust over the top of the apples. Pinch the two doughs together to seal & fold the seam under building a lip on the pie plate edge. Crimp the dough using one of these Pie Crust Fluting Techniques. Brush the pastry surface with the egg white & sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Freeze the pie 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pie on a foil-lined half sheet pan. Bake on the lower oven rack 35 minutes. Cover the pie surface loosely with foil & reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake an additional 35 minutes or until the apples are tender, the crust is golden & the filling is bubbling steadily in several spots around the pie crust cut outs. Expect some of the filling to bubble over onto the foil-lined pan in a few places around the pie. Cool 4 hours. Slice into wedges. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Buttermilk-Cornmeal Pastry Dough
makes 1 {10-inch} pie crust
Quilted Star Double Pie Crust
An Americana-style star pattern salutes this traditional apple pie & can be created in the upper crust dough by using a miniature diamond shaped cutter. Prepare two recipes of this dough for a double crust pie. A few baking temperature & time adjustments to the original recipe yields a stellar result.
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp plain yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup cold shortening
3 to 4 Tbsp whole buttermilk
Whisk together the flour, the cornmeal & the salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter & the shortening into the mixture using a fork or your fingers until crumbly in texture making certain to leave some of the fat in large bits. Drizzle 3 to 4 Tbsp buttermilk over the mixture & shape the dough into a disc. Repeat the procedure for a total of two dough discs.
The Quilted Star Upper Crust Pastry
Roll one dough disc into a 12-inch circle between plastic wrap. Remove the top piece of plastic. Place a 1-inch round cutter in the center of the dough. Cut 5 drinking straws into 5-inch pieces. Space the straws evenly around the cutter to from a seat shape. Cut 3 diamond shapes between each straw about 1/2-inch apart from the dough using a 7/8-inch size cutter. Remove the straws from dough surface. Cut 3 circles from the dough spacing them 1/2-inch apart using the end of a straw between each row of diamond shapes. For additional details & photo illustrations, use the Upper Crust Cut Out Design Techniques as a guide. Transfer onto the bottom side of a half sheet pan & cover the pastry with plastic wrap. Chill the dough until ready to assemble the pie & use according to recipe instructions.
The Bottom Crust Pastry
Roll the remaining dough disc into a 12-inch circle between plastic wrap. Transfer onto the bottom side of a half sheet pan & cover the pastry with plastic wrap. Chill the dough until ready to assemble the pie & use according to recipe instructions.
FROM THE KITCHEN OF BUTTERMILK LIPSTICK
{testing notes}
How To Make An All-American Apple Pie
There’s such an art to making a double crust pie. Whether simple or complex, a blanket of flaky goodness over the fruit makes it so special. The extra effort certainly won’t go unnoticed particularly topped with a scoop of ice cream. From a patriotic upper
crust to a golden brown, crisp bottom pastry. Follow these valuable tips to salute a classic. American style.
The Technique
A few pieces of equipment will be needed in order to complete the task. Read through the recipe before beginning. Her’s what you should know.
No. 1
The Apple Preparation
Cooking apples ahead of time for pie helps to release moisture quickly as well as begin to break down the flesh making them naturally smaller. It also helps to keep the pastry crust from over browning as this step will require a shorter bake time. You will notice that the crust doesn’t bake completely flat. As the apples cook further during baking, they will shrink a little more from the juices that are released. The rustic texture in the pie crust is the result of where the dough set earlier over the apple chunks in the baking process. If the apples had not been cooked before baking, you would notice more dramatic gaps between the apples with a crust that crumbles when the pie is sliced. There’s nothing wrong with baking a pie without cooking the apples first. As with many recipes, choosing one method vs another generally results in a trade off so you have to go with the choice that allows you to receive what you desire the most. In this case, I wanted a top crust that would bake relatively flat so that the design in the upper crust would read well once the pie was baked.
No. 2
The Double Pie Crust
The dough discs can be prepared up to two days ahead of time. Place them in a zip-top plastic bag, press as much of the air out as possible & seal to keep it from drying out. When you’re ready to prep the doughs for the pie, it’s best to begin rolling them while still a bit cold, about 5 minutes after they come out of the refrigerator, as they will warm quickly. When fitting, shaping & crimping the dough, it will need to be more pliable. Although not necessary, you can trim the pastry by tracing a 12-inch cake pan over each piece of rolled dough using a paring knife. Both the upper & the bottom crust pastry will need to be prepped ahead of time & ready to use when assembling the pie for baking.
Sealing the top & bottom pastry is essential. The egg white will work almost like a glue to secure the doughs. Fluting the edges will not only give a lovely decorative finish to the pie, it will also aide in keeping the pastry snug for a pretty look.
No. 3
The Baking
Once the Quilted Star Upper Crust Pastry has been placed over the fruit & the edges have been sealed & fluted, the pie is ready to go into the oven. Be certain to place it on a foil-lined half sheet pan as some of the hot filling will bubble over the lip of the plate in a few spots. The sides will keep it contained on the pan & not in the bottom of your oven. The foil will make clean up quick. This is normal in order for the filling to thicken & set properly as the pie cools.
Look for several spots of bubbling fruit over the surface of the pie before removing it from the oven. Start checking the progress around 55 minutes of the total bake time. If you feel the crust is getting too brown & the filling is still looking a tad thin, scrunch the foil down a bit, loosely, to contain the heat better. If the center of the pie isn’t brown enough, you can place strips of foil around the circumference of the pie instead of shielding the entire surface.
The pie slices beautifully after standing about 4 hours at room temperature. The crust is ultra crisp, particularly on the bottom. Baking the pie as close to the heat source as possible magically delivers a flaky pie crust when blind baking the dough isn’t an option. Expect the filling to pool ever so slightly in the bottom of the pie plate. The apples hold their shape well & are contained between the two layers of baked pastry.
The Tune
“The Battle Hymn Of The Republic” Mormon Tabernacle Choir
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Be sweet.
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