Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 900 g golden delicious apples
• 15 g lemon juice
• 50 g white sugar
• 65 g brown sugar
• 5 g cinnamon
• 1-2 g nutmeg
• 15 g cornstarch
• 15 g ice water
• 226 g cold butter, cut into slices
• 350 g flour
• 5 g salt
• 30 g white sugar
• 225 g butter
• 50-100 ml ice water
• 1 egg
• 15 g water

Method

Make the pie-crust first; it needs chilling time while you reduce the filling. Pulse the flour, salt, and caster sugar with the cold butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse sand — about 5–10 seconds total. The goal is pea-sized fat particles suspended in flour, which create steam pockets during baking and give you a flaky crumb. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing between additions, until the dough just holds together when pinched. Overworking develops gluten and tightens the crumb; you want tender, not chewy. Divide the dough in half, flatten each piece into a disc, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you work on the filling.

Peel the apples and slice them into 5mm-thick wedges rather than strips — they'll collapse more evenly during cooking. Toss with lemon juice, both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Let them macerate for 15 minutes; the acid denatures the pectin in the cell walls, releasing liquid apples will weep. Transfer to a heavy-bottomed pan and reduce over medium-low heat, stirring every couple of minutes, for 12–15 minutes. You're evaporating excess moisture and concentrating flavour; the mixture should thicken slightly and the apples should remain distinct, not collapse into sauce. Turn off the heat and cool to warm.

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Roll the first disc of dough between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 2mm and a diameter of about 30cm. Transfer to a 23cm pie tin, letting the excess hang over the rim. Spoon the cooled filling into the shell, mounding slightly in the centre. Roll the second disc, drape it over the filling, and trim both layers to 2cm overhang. Fold the edges under and crimp with your thumb and forefinger to seal and create a neat raised rim. Brush the entire surface with beaten egg and 15ml water. Cut four slits in the top to vent steam — don't just poke; make deliberate 5cm-long cuts. Chill the assembled pie for 15 minutes.

Bake for 45–50 minutes. The crust should turn deep golden-brown and the filling should bubble visibly through the vents; if the rim browns too fast, cover loosely with foil halfway through. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. The filling continues to set as it cools — cut into it too early and it'll run across the plate.