Happy Pi Day! John Barricelli's Classic Apple Pie to celebrate perhaps?

Baking and eating Apple Pie is a wonderful way to celebrate Pi Day! Wondering what Pi Day is? Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, 3/14; since 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of pi. Also fitting is that March 14 is the birthday of Albert Einstein. Do you think he enjoyed Pie or Pi?

John Barricelli is the owner of The Sono Bakery & Cafe in South Norwalk and Westport, the award winning author of The Sono Baking Company Cookbook and a regular on Martha Stewart's Every Day Baking. We are happy that John shares his sweet & savory recipes with HamletHub.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • Basic Pie Dough, 2 disks
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
  • 4 pounds apples, such as Empire, Granny Smith, Gala, Cortland, Winesap, or a mix
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 

Directions

    *Lightly flour a large piece of waxed paper; place a disk of dough in center. Rolling from center outward, form into a 12-inch circle. (Use paper to rotate dough, and flour rolling pin and paper as necessary to prevent sticking.) Transfer dough (still on paper) to a baking sheet; cover and refrigerate. Repeat with second disk of dough.

    *Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with a rack set in lowest position. Remove first circle of dough from refrigerator; wrap around rolling pin (discarding paper), and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently lift edges and lower dough into the pie plate so it hugs bottom and sides. Avoid stretching the dough, which will make it shrink during baking. Refrigerate.

    *Place lemon juice in a large bowl. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices; halve crosswise, and add to lemon juice (to keep them from turning brown) as you work. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt; toss to combine.

    *Remove dough-lined pie plate from refrigerator. Fill with apple mixture, gently packing apples and mounding slightly in center; dot with butter. Lightly brush rim of pie shell with water. Remove remaining circle of dough from refrigerator. Lay over apples; press along moistened rim to seal. Using kitchen shears, trim overhang to 1 inch.

    *With floured fingers, fold overhang under itself to form a thick rim; pinch between thumb and forefinger to form a uniform edge around the rim of the pie plate.

    To crimp edges: With thumb and index finger of one hand, gently press dough against knuckle of other hand; continue around pie. (Deep indentations anchor dough on rim and prevent it from sliding down sides of pie plate during baking.)

    *With a floured paring knife, cut 5 to 6 slits in top of pie, radiating from center; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes more. If edges brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Cool completely, at least 6 hours, before serving.

 

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Submitted by Danbury, CT

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