I took the Kidlet to the grocery store with me the other day and she wanted to get an apple pie. I told her that I usually find the budget grocery store apple pies somewhat disappointing and that we'd probably be better off making our own. And, as luck would have it, when TF and I went to the grocery store a few days later, they had bags of apples on the discount produce rack: 8 apples for $2!

Now, the catch with getting discount apples is that you don't get to choose (or even know) what variety you're getting. They looked like maybe macs or galas, but I'm not certain. I know they weren't red delicious, Granny Smith, or golden delicious, but that's about all I can say. I usually hear relatively tart apples (like Granny Smiths) recommended for baking, so this probably wasn't ideal. But they were cheap and I'm still quite happy with how the pie turned out and, most importantly, so is the Kidlet.

The book contains its own pastry recipe for the pie. Initially, I was going to use their recipe. But then I thought about how much sourdough starter I have going begging right now and figured that maybe going for a sourdough pastry would be better. I felt like it would complement the apples reasonably well and let me use up a little starter, so why not? I even managed to get a flakier, less bready result this time! I think the only change I'd make next time is to add slightly more sugar to the crust. Maybe a full tsp. rather than just half. It might also be fun to experiment with brushing the crust with a little egg or milk and then sprinkling on some turbinado sugar before baking. But I didn't want to mess around with that for this time. Possibly something to experiment with, but by no means necessary.

Apple Pie

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 recipe sourdough pastry
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 8 apples, peeled and sliced
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter¹
• vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare pastry, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
3. Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cornstarch.
4. Add the apples and toss to mix.
5. Divide the pastry into two equal portions and roll out each one into a 30cm (12") round.
6. Use one pastry sheet to line a pie plate.
7. Dump the apples into the pie shell.
8. Dot the butter on top, then cover with remaining pastry sheet.
9. Trim edges and fold the edge of top crust under the bottom crust, then crimp to seal.
10. Cut a few slits in the top crust.
11. Bake until crust is golden and apples are tender (~60 minutes).
12. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
13. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
14. Serve with ice cream and or whipped cream (if desired).

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¹ I only just now realized that I forgot to add the butter. Whoops! ^Back