Ingredients
Method
Brown Butter Pie Crust
- Put 285 g unsalted butter in a large saucepan, and melt over medium heat. Keep cooking the butter while stirring and scraping the bottom constantly, until you see browned bits on the bottom of the pan. The butter should smell nutty and a little like caramel. Read more about how to make browned butter here.
- Take the pan off the heat. Place a heatproof bowl on a scale and zero/tare the weight. Weigh the browned butter into the bowl, scraping out all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add enough water to the bowl to bring the weight back up to 285 grams.
- Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge. After about an hour, or once the fat starts to solidify but is still soft, whisk the water and butter together to combine. Return to the fridge to solidify completely (about another 2-3 hours).
- To a large mixing bowl, add 375 g all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Whisk to combine.
- Break up the cold and solidified butter into smaller pieces, and toss into the flour mixture to coat the pieces in flour. Use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work the butter pieces into the dough until it resembles breadcrumbs, with the largest pieces about the size of peas.
- Add 1 large egg yolk to a small bowl, and whisk with 3 tablespoons ice water. Pour this over the flour and butter mixture and toss to combine and evenly hydrate the flour. If needed, add extra ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. Add just enough water to bring the dough together, it should be rough and shaggy at this point and just hold together.
- Gently knead the dough to bring it together in the bowl, then dump it out onto a clean work surface. Press it together into a square. If you like, you can fold it over itself a couple times to get more flaky layers in the crust. Divide it in two unequal pieces: about two-thirds for the bottom crust, and the rest for the top crust. Shape each piece roughly into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours before using.
Miso Caramel
- In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons white miso paste with about 2 tablespoons of the total amount of 120 g heavy cream for this recipe until smooth. Set aside.
- Add 85 g unsalted butter, 150 g brown sugar, and 50 g granulated sugar to a small saucepan. Over medium heat and while stirring, melt the butter and sugars together until starting to bubble. Carefully add 120 g heavy creamhe remaining heavy cream—it may sputter and bubble. Whisk to combine.
- Continue cooking the caramel over medium heat until bubbling vigorously and slightly thickened, about 5-6 minutes. Pour carefully into a heatproof bowl and whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Cover the bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. The miso caramel will keep in the fridge in a sealed container or jar for up to 2 weeks. This recipe makes plenty of miso caramel, so you'll have enough for the pie filling and to drizzle for serving.
Apple Pie Filling
- Peel, core, and chop 1-1½ kilograms apples and place in a large pot. Toss with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch. Add 180 g miso caramel (that's about ¾ cup, and you can just eyeball this and add more or less to your taste) and stir to combine.
- Cook the apple mixture over medium heat while stirring regularly, until the apples have softened and the mixture has thickened. Transfer to a shallow container and cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge until completely cold (at least 1-2 hours).
- To assemble the pie: Roll the larger portion of pie dough out to a circle about 2" (5 cm) larger than your 9-10" (23-25.5 cm) pie plate. It should be about ¼–⅜" (0.5-1 cm) thick. Gently roll it onto your rolling pin and into the pie plate. Press it completely into the pie plate and right into the corners, to avoid any air bubbles from forming during baking. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
- Roll out the other portion of dough for the top crust. You can roll it into a circle to make a plain top crust, or roughly into a rectangle for a lattice crust. Roll it to about ¼–⅜" (0.5-1 cm) thick. If your kitchen is warm, cover and refrigerate it so it stays cold and firm.
- Add the filling to the crust, and spread it out evenly.
- For a lattice top crust: Cut the top crust into as many strips as you like. You can have lots of thin strips, or a few fat strips, or mix and match strips of different widths. I like to use a clear gridded ruler and a pizza cutter/wheel to make it easy to get straight and even strips.You'll likely have strips of different lengths. Save the long strips for the middle of the pie, and use the short strips for the edges. Place a long strip centered across the middle of the pie, and cross another long strip over it. Lift the first strip up, place one down next to it, and put the first strip back down. Continue lifting the underlapping strips up and placing strips next to them, to complete your woven lattice top.Press the top and bottom crusts together and trim the edges so you have about a 1" (2.5 cm) overhang. Fold the bottom crust over the top crust and crimp between your thumb and fingers.
- For a plain top crust: Cut one or more holes in the top for venting—you can use a knife or a cookie cutter for this. Place the top crust over the filling and press down gently. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together and trim so you have about a 1" (2.5 cm) overhang. Fold the top crust over the bottom crust and crimp together with your thumb and fingers.
- Cover the pie with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Place your oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. If you have a pizza stone or baking steel, put it in the oven while you preheat it to 425˚F (220˚C). The pizza stone or baking steel will hold a ton of heat and direct it right at your bottom crust, so you don't get a soggy bottom!
- Brush the top crust with egg wash (1 egg beaten) and sprinkle on some coarse sugar if you like. Avoid brushing the crimped edges with egg wash—that can make them brown too quickly in the oven. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet to catch any drips.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350˚F (175˚C). Continue baking until the top is golden brown and flaky, another 30–40 minutes.
- Leave the pie to cool completely at room temperature before slicing, or the filling will fall apart. This can take a few hours.
- Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a generous drizzle of miso caramel!
Video
Notes
You can use a variety of apples in the filling. Use all one kind, or mix and match 2–3 varieties for added complexity and depth of flavour. Good varieties to use include:
- Honeycrisp
- Granny Smith
- Braeburn
- Fuji
- Golden Delicious
- Jonagold
- Northern Spy
- Pink Lady