Traditional Apple Pie Recipe

How to Make Traditional Apple Pie

Method

  1. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter cubes. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. This should take about 5 minutes and no large chunks of butter should remain.
  2. Add the cold water and mix with a fork until the dough just begins to stick together. Shape dough into a ball and cover tightly with cling wrap. Place in fridge for 20 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan forced). Cut apples into halves, remove core and seeds, then cut into wedges.
  4. Place apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornflour into a large saucepan on low-medium heat. Mix and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Apples should be soft but retain their shape. Set aside to cool slightly.
  5. Grease the base and sides of a 25cm pie dish. Remove dough from fridge and cut into half. Shape each half into a small ball. Cover one tightly with cling wrap and set aside. Using a rolling pin, roll one of the pastry balls out into a large circular shape, between 2 sheets of baking paper, until it is large enough to cover the base and sides of your pie dish. It should overhang the edges by approximately 2cm.
  6. Spoon apple mixture into pie dish and spread evenly.
  7. Roll the remaining dough out and remove a small piece of pastry to make your decorative pastry braid. Roll dough into a large circle.
  8. Dab a little water on the pie edge with your fingertips and lay the pastry circle over the top of the pie. Fold any overhanging dough under itself and crimp pastry together with your fingers, to secure. Dab a little milk on the outside top of pie crust and top with your decorative pastry braid.
  9. Brush the top of the pastry with the whisked egg white and sprinkle with raw sugar.
  10. Use a sharp knife to slice a couple of vents into the top crust of the pie.
  11. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown* and the pie is fragrant.

TIP: If the top of the pie is over-browning, cover with foil for the last 15 minutes of the cooking process, to slow this down.