Hi hi! It’s me again with another pie recipe. This one is the love child of two of my favourite autumn / winter desserts - apple pie and apple crumble. It’s cemented itself a place in this year’s pie line up. I started with a rye crust, and filled it with thinly sliced apples, then topped it with an oaty crumble. The apples bake down, and the topping gets toasty - it’s perfect with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream. All the merits of an apple crumble, combined with the deliciousness of an apple pie.
I also love this as it is super easy to prepare ahead, making it a great dish for those who like to prep some of their Thanksgiving meal ahead of time. The crumble topping can be made up to a few days in advance, and I made the pie dough and then lined the tin and crimped the crust the day before too, and stored the crust in the freezer, which meant that when it came time to assemble, all I had to do was mix up the filling, place it into the prepared crust, and then add the crumble topping on top, making the day of prep incredibly simple. This was a huge hit at my house, and I think it will be at this year’s Thanksgiving too!
Carrying on from Yesterday’s post with a spelt crust, I used freshly ground rye flour in this crust. I ground mine at home, but rye flour is super easy to find in the supermarket. If you wanted to amp up the flavour you could use it in the crumble topping too for an extra dose of the beautiful nutty flavour that rye gives.
A few wee tips:
-
The crust recipe here makes enough for two. Shape it into two discs - it will keep in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months. I like to pull it the night before and defrost in the fridge.
-
I like using a wee tip that my friend Erin taught me to make the pie dough nice and smooth and easy to work with. I make the dough, shape it into two rectangles, rest it in the fridge wrapped for about an hour, then remove it and roll it out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. I then give it a letter fold (as you would a letter), roll out to a rectangle, letter fold again, then roll out slightly, and shape into a disc. I then re-wrap it, and leave it to rest overnight. This makes the dough more homogenous without compromising the flaky texture that you want in the pie dough, and it makes it a total dream to work with. For me, it’s a game changer.
-
If you don’t want to make a rye dough, then you can just make a regular dough!
-
I made the crumble topping and the pie crust ahead of time (I rolled out and shaped the crust in the tin and then froze it overnight) so this came together super, super easily, which would make prepping it ahead a breeze
-
The quantity of apples will give you a big mound in the middle. This will sink down once the pie is cooked.
-
I like my crumble topping a little on the toasty side, so I left it uncovered for the first 20 mins at the higher temp (important to cook the pastry), and then covered it with foil for the rest of the bake.
-
Make sure that the middle is cooked - you want to see juices coming out through the crumble.
-
Mine did leak a little, so parchment on a sheet pan is going to be your friend here.
-
If you are in a nut free house, just sub the almond meal for some more all-purpose flour
Apple Crumble Pie with Rye Crust
- Makes one 9” pie -
Rye Pie Dough
275g all-purpose flour
100g rye flour
Pinch of Salt
2 tsp (8g) sugar
225g (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
240g (1 cup) cold water
1 cup ice
60g (1/4 cup) Apple cider vinegar
Egg wash - 1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Crumble Topping
100g almond meal
100g all-purpose flour
80g old fashioned or rolled oats
100g brown sugar
50g raw or turbinado sugar
3/4 tsp salt
130g unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
Apple Filling
1100g apples, peeled and sliced thinly
40g all-purpose flour
80g raw / turbinado sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp salt
- PROCESS -
RYE PIE DOUGH
Place flour, rye flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Mix to combine. Cut butter into chunks, and add to the flour. Toss lightly to coat. Working quickly, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are only pea-sized chunks left. You want a few lumps of butter remaining to keep the pastry nice and tender.
Combine ice, water and cider vinegar in a bowl. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the ice water into the flour and butter mixture, and using a stiff spatula or your hands, mix in well. Continue adding water a tablespoon at a time ( I normally need about 1/2 a cup, but add slowly) until you have a dough that holds together well, but is not too wet. Squeeze together with your fingertips to make a homogenous dough. Divide the dough into two and shape into discs. If desired, roll out and perform letter folds after an hour of resting (see notes - I do this every time now and it makes such a difference). Rest in the fridge for at least two hours, or preferably overnight.
CRUMBLE TOPPING
Combine the almond meal, flour, oats, brown sugar, raw sugar, and salt. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until combined and crumbly. Place in an airtight container in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the pie.
ASSEMBLY
Once the dough has rested, unwrap one disc and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/4” (6mm) in thickness, turning the dough 45˚ often as you are rolling to keep it even. You want the circle to be slightly larger than your pie tin. Transfer to a 9” pie tin, and arrange to ensure that the dough is well settled.
Trim the dough using scissors or a sharp knife, leaving about one inch excess around the edges. Gently tuck the dough under and onto itself, to give you a neat folded edge. Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the fridge and crimp as desired. Dock all over with the tines of a fork, then chill for a further 30 minutes, or freeze for 20 minutes or until solid (this can be done the night before)
While the crust is in the fridge, preheat the oven to 425°f / 220°c.
Place the sliced apples in a large bowl. Add the vanilla bean paste. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl, then add to the apples and toss well to combine. Transfer the filling to the lined pie dish a little at a time, packing the slices of apple in tightly, and mounding in the middle. Remember that it will bake down a little, so it is ok for the pie to seem a bit full.
Top with the crumble - use as much as you like. I like a heavy crumble.
Place the assembled pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes at 425°f / 220°c, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°f / 190°c, and bake until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling, 40 to 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Leave a Reply