Apple Pie – Homemade Pastry Option

Not So Easy But Lots Of Fun Version: Apple Pie with home-made pastry

You will need:

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1/2 cup self raising flour

pinch of salt

190gms unsalted butter + 60gms unsalted butter

1/2 cup caster sugar + 1/2 cup caster sugar + 2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 egg + 1 egg

1 tablespoon cold water

8 green apples

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

1 tablespoon milk

STEP ONE:  Sift flours and salt.

STEP TWO: Add butter, rubbing into flour with fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.

STEP THREE: Stir through sugar.

STEP FOUR:  Beat one egg with the water and add to mixture then start mixing it all together, firstly with a knife (I don’t know why) and then with your hands, adding additional cold water if required.

STEP FIVE: Divide dough into a larger and smaller ball, then wrap each in cling wrap and stick in fridge for half an hour.

STEP SIX: Meanwhile, peel, core and cut up apples, immediately tossing them in the lemon juice as you go. We used one of those hand cranked slinky makers (that’s what we call them). Easy.

STEP SEVEN: Over a medium heat, melt butter in a pan with the sugar.

STEP EIGHT: Add the apples, cinnamon and ground cloves. Stirring occasionally, cook for 10 minutes. When apples have softened, set aside to cool.

STEP NINE: Take the larger of the dough balls from the fridge and roll it out until it will fit the base and sides of the pie dish. Return to fridge until apple has cooled.

STEP TEN: Scoop the cooled apple into it with a slotted spoon (so you don’t add all the liquid).

STEP ELEVEN:  Roll out the second ball of dough until it will fit over the apple, brush on some egg/milk mixture around pie edge, cover with pastry, brush top with egg/milk mixture, sprinkle with caster sugar, stab a couple of holes in the middle and pop back in fridge for half an hour.

STEP TWELVE: Preheat oven to 180 degrees when the pie is just about ready to come out of the fridge.

STEP THIRTEEN:  Cook at 180 degrees for 40 minutes, or until you can’t resist the golden brown tasty pastry any longer.

When not typing away over here and checking his stats every two minutes,

Bruce Devereaux hangs out at his ‘BIG FAMILY little income’  Facebook Page.

 ’raising a family on little more than laughs’