Applesauce-Apple Pie

Ingredients for double-crust pie dough:

Makes 1 (9-inch) pie

  • 3 cups / 450 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup / 50 grams sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon / 4.5 grams fine sea salt
  • 3 ounces / 85 grams chilled unsalted butter, diced
  • 3 ounces / 85 grams vegetable shortening
  • 1 chilled large egg
  • 3 tablespoons / 42 grams ice-cold water

Ingredients for filling:

  • 7 1/2 cups / 850 grams apples (I like to use half Gala and half Granny Smith), peeled, cut into medium dice
  • 31/2 ounces / 100 grams Baked Applesauce (page 95) or store-bought
  • 2 tablespoons / 28 grams apple cider
  • 2 teaspoons / 10 grams fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons / 8 grams bourbon
  • 1 tablespoon / 21 grams cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons / 9 grams tapioca starch
  • 3/4 teaspoon / 4.5 grams fine sea salt

Ingredients for egg wash:

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon / 14 grams water
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 grams heavy cream
  • Sugar, for sprinkling
Bryan Voltaggio

Directions:

Make the Double-Crust Pie Dough:
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse 3 or 4 times, until the butter is broken up into small pebbles in the flour. Pour themixture into a bowl and put the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pour the chilled flour and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the shortening. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed, and add the egg while the mixer is running. Once the egg is absorbed, add the ice water. Stop the mixer as soon as the dough comes together. Divide the dough into 2 flattened rounds, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165C).

Remove 1 round of pie dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface, giving the dough a 90-degree turn after each pass with the rolling pin until you have a rough circle approximately 13 inches wide and ¼ inch thick. Lay it on a baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Remove the second round of pie dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface, giving the dough a 90-degree turn after each pass with the rolling pin until you have a rough circle approximately 13 inches wide and ¼ inch thick. Fit this circle of dough into a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges so there is ¼ inch of overhang all around the perimeter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Make the Filling:
Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Make the Egg Wash and Bake the Pie:
Put the egg and water in a small bowl. Whisk with a fork until smooth. Remove the pie pan lined with dough from the refrigerator and uncover. Pour the filling into the shell. Remove the circle of dough from the refrigerator, lay it over the top, and trim it so that there is about ½ inch of dough hanging over the edge of the pie plate along the circumference. Gently pinch the two layers of dough together and fold the extra bit of top layer over the bottom layer, tucking it under the edge of the dough. Gently pinch and crimp the circumference of the pie dough. Slide the pie onto a baking sheet and brush the Egg Wash over the top in an even coating. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the cream over the top of the pie. Sprinkle sugar over the top, and return to the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes, until the pie is a deep, even golden brown. Let cool on a rack.