Apple Sage Gouda Pie
The flavours and textures of this apple pie are unmistakable and unforgettable!
Maybe you and I are alike? Excited by eating pie, but overwhelmed by making it? The effort might not produce something better than you can buy, so why bother? Grocery store pie will do the trick, thanks!?
Although I’ve been an avid home cook for over 20 years, I have never felt comfortable making pie dough. If you feel the same, do not give up! Every once in a while I try and try again just to see if I’ve found a better recipe or cracked some kind of pie secret code.
Last Christmas I got the Sister Pie cookbook by Lisa Ludwinski and read it cover to cover by the tree. The first pie that I tried (and the one that has been on repeat this year) was the Apple Sage Gouda Pie. The stars aligned and the secret code of pie dough was revealed to me. Ready?! Pie takes TIME! Lots of time! To rest, to chill and finally to cool. So much more time and patience than I had ever given it, and myself, and what a difference! #piemakingisselfcare .
This pie, with it’s savoury aged gouda crust and sage scented apple filling will knock your socks into next week.
Please give it a try, and take your time!
If you already have a pie dough prepared or already have a favourite recipe, follow the pictures and instructions below for the apple sage filling.
If you are making this dough recipe, scroll down and start with that. It’s best if you make the dough a day or a few hours ahead and then make the filling.
While the dough is cooling in the fridge, make the filling. You need 2 pounds of apples, washed, peeled and sliced, then tossed in 1 tsp lemon juice. I am using Spartan apples here. you can use your favourite tart and firm apple.
Massaging the fresh sage into the sugar mixture makes the whole pie super fragrant. You then toss this mixture, using your hands, with the apples.
A flour and sugar mixture goes in the bottom of the unbaked crust to keep it from getting soggy.
The apple mixture goes in next, and then is dotted with butter.
Place top dough or lattice strips on top and crimp the edges. If you decide not to do lattice strips, leave vents for the steam to escape. The holes you make also help you see if the filling is bubbling and the pie is done.
Here’s where the time and patience come in again. Put the prepared pie in the freezer for 15 minutes. This lets the butter get as cold as possible. When the cold pockets of butter hit the hot oven, they will create beautiful layers and flakiness.
Brush the top of your very cold pie with a beaten egg. This makes the top glisten when baked.
Now, it goes into the oven on a baking sheet. First at 450°F for 15-20 minutes, then you continue to bake at 325°F for 50-70 minutes, until the juices are bubbling in the centre.
Ingredients
Apple Sage Filling
2 pounds/1 kg apples, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons minced sage
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup minute tapioca* or tapioca starch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp turbinado sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon flour
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten
Aged Gouda Pie Dough
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (the best you can afford)
1 ounce/ 30 grams aged gouda, grated
1/2 ice cold water-vinegar mixture**
1 egg (for egg wash)
Tools
Pastry blender
Rolling pin (tapered at the ends makes is easier)
Bench scraper
Flour for dusting
9-inch pie pan
Pastry cutter or knife
*Notes
*Lisa Ludwinski uses tapioca starch to thicken her pies. I have tried both Kraft Minute Tapioca, which I happen to have on hand the first time, and tapioca starch and I prefer the results of using the minute tapioca.
**Use a 1 cup liquid measuring cup. Fill halfway with ice cubes, then add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and water to complete the 1 cup of liquid. This adds depth of flavour to the crust.
Aged Sage Gouda Pie
Servings 6-8 Time Lots, but it’s worth it (about 2 hours, divided)
Recipe adapted from Sister Pie by Lisa Ludwinski
Directions
Apple Sage Filling
Toss the sliced apples in lemon juice.
Use your fingers to massage the sage and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the brown sugar, tapioca of your choice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the sage-sugar mixture to the apples and mix with your hands.
Remove the unbaked pie crust from the fridge and sprinkle the bottom with the sugar-flour mixture. Pour in the apples, making sure they are evenly distributed. Dot the apples with cubes of butter.
Top with the lattice strips. Start with making an X with two strips. Next, lay two more strips, one on either side of the first strip you laid. Now, working from the centre lay two strips perpendicular to the ones you just laid, lifting up the original strip so that it lays on top of the newest strips. Still with me? It should look like a woven lattice.
If you want to make a braid, then cut one of the thick strips into three and braid before weaving.
Rip off any excessively long lattice pieces so that they are flush with the bottom crust. Traveling around the outside of dough, roll the bottom crust over the top. You should be left with a pie surrounded by what looks like a little rounded breadstick crown.
Then, crimp using your forefingers and opposite thumb to create a tall, proud and strong edge that will prevent hot apple goo from boiling over.
Put the pie into the freezer for 15 minutes to cool.
Using a pastry brush, brush the cold pie and crimped edges with the egg wash.
Bake on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes at 450°F, it should be evenly golden brown. Turn the temperature down to 325°F and bake for 50-70 minutes. The pie is done when the juices are bubbling in the centre.
You did it! Just kidding, but almost there….
Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool for 4-6 hours!
Now you’ve done it! Slice the pie in 6-8 pieces and serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or eat as is! It is best eaten within two days. Store covered at room temperature.
Aged Gouda Pie Dough
Combine dry ingredients in a large metal bowl. Drop the sticks of butter into the flour mixture and coat on all sides. Using a bench scraper or butter knife, cut the butter into 1.5 cm / 1/2 inch thick pieces. Toss the pieces to coat them in flour mixture, so they don’t stick together. Now cut each ‘cube’ in half.
Using a pastry blender (see video below) cut the butter into the flour. Using your other hand, turn the bowl so that you are moving through different pieces of butter each time. Continue to blend and turn the bowl until the mixture looks like peas and cheap parmesan. At this point, add in the grated gouda and combine.
Pour in the 1/2 cup of vinegar-water and use a bench scraper, or large spoon to move the mixture from one side of the bowl to the other until there’s no more pools of liquid. Use your hands to repeatedly scoop up as much as you can and then press it back down. Rotate the bowl and continue to scoop and fold until the dough is united into one big lump, and there are no leftover floury bits in the bowl.
Place the newly formed dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it into two equal pieces with your bench scraper. Gently mold one into a 2 inch thick disk and the other into a 6 x 2 inch rectangle.
Refrigerate overnight, or if you are in a rush, for 2 hours. If you are not using within a couple days, freeze it for up to a year. I wrap the dough disks in plastic wrap and then store in a plastic bag to keep them tasting fresh when out of the freezer.
The Roll Out
Place the unwrapped dough on a lightly floured surface. Pound out the dough to flatten it a bit. Hit across the surface of the dough four times from left to right, then turn it 180 degrees and hit it again.
Use the tapered end of the rolling pin to focus on rolling out the edges of the dough. This ensures they don’t get too thin by the end.
Finally, roll the dough out from the centre, pushing the rolling pin away from yourself and stopping before the edges that you’ve already rolled. The dough is quite hard and cold so you may need to put some back into it. You can do it! Rotate the dough 45 degrees and continue to roll, flipping it over if it gets sticky. Stop when you have a circle that is about 12 inches wide.
Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll into the pie pan. Gently push it down with your fingers so the dough is right down in the pan all the way around. Cut around the edges so that you have an even overlap.
Cover and refrigerate the crust while you make the filling. (scroll up)