Free-form and rustic is the style with this simple pie crust for a no fuss, easy apple pie ~ by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD
After spending a September weekend in Vermont with cooler temperatures, I came back ready to accept that fall was indeed here and it was time to embrace all things apples and maple.
Not that my arm needed much twisting.
Now, I love to bake – from bread to biscotti – but when it comes to making pie crust, well, let’s just say it’s my baking Achilles’ heel. I’ve never quite gotten it down, so for years I’ve typically resorted to buying pre-made pie crusts. Trader Joe’s Frozen Pie Crusts are my usual go-to.
But let’s be honest – pre-made tastes nothing like homemade and gosh darn it, I know my way around the kitchen.
It was time to man up and make an apple pie completely from scratch.
So, I got some inspiration from a few pie crust blog posts from King Arthur Flour, which was very helpful – not to mention, encouraging like with this quote:
“Although instructions are neat and tidy, the first (and maybe every) pie crust you make won’t necessarily be. But don’t ever let that discourage you. Just undertake pie making as a new and exciting adventure.”
Of course, when I finally put my mind to the mantra “I will conquer pie crust” and did a few versions, I realized I was probably just being lazy all these years. And just like anything in the kitchen, the more times you make it, the better it will get through fine tuning.
Which was already true after just a few test runs of Operation Pie Crust Confidence.
Description
Free-form and rustic is the style with this simple pie crust for a no fuss, easy apple pie
For the crust:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons chilled buttermilk
For the filling:
- 4 medium apples, cored and sliced (peels on)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Vanilla sugar or turbinado sugar
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Combine all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and using your hands or a pastry cutter, mix together until flour resembles coarse sand and butter is size of small peas. Add buttermilk and quickly mix together with hands until dough barely holds together. Pat into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Roll out dough on parchment paper (placing piece of plastic wrap on top of dough for rolling, if desired), into a 12-inch circle. Place on baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes in fridge while you prepare filling.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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In another bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour and cinnamon.
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Arrange filling in center of pastry circle to within 1½ inches of edges. Fold and pleat edges of dough up and over apples. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
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Bake 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
And if you like this recipe, more “apples & baking” recipes you might enjoy:
