If two people are working together, peeling the apples and making
the crust can well be done in parallel.
- Wash and peel the apples. Cut them into
cubes
, about 1/4 the
apple's diameter on the square sides. Some people say these pieces
are too big.
- Mix the flour, oil and water in a large bowl. Knead until the flour
particles are evenly coated with oil and/or water.
- Divide the dough in two equal parts. For each, place it between
two big squares of waxed paper and roll it, keeping the thickness
uniform, so it is round and a bit bigger than the pie pan
(outer diameter of pan plus height times (sqrt(2)-1); the latter term
is 0.41). You can turn the pan over to gauge the size. Help the
cracks in the perimeter to seal together.
- Smear the pie pan with oil to discourage sticking.
- From the bottom crust, remove one sheet of paper. Set the crust
on a cutting board, then invert the pan on top of it, and re-invert
the sandwich. (Or flip the crust into the pan.) Peel off the other
paper and help the crust to settle evenly into the pan without tearing.
Press out air bubbles. Weld tears and cracks together, if any.
- It's about time to preheat the oven to 450°F. Arrange the racks so the
pie (top rack) will be in the middle of the oven. On the lower rack
put a baking pan or a square of aluminum foil with the edges turned up,
to catch the drips. But don't block air circulation in the oven.
- Mix the sugar, cornstarch and spices.
- Put 1/3 of the apples into the pie, then sprinkle 1/3 of the sugar
mixture over them. Repeat twice.
- Add vanilla evenly, dropwise, on top.
- Put little bits of butter on top.
- From the top crust, remove one paper, flip it onto the pie, and peel
off the other paper. Press the edges of the crust together making
a decorative pattern. Martha Stewart would be proud of you.
- With a knife, poke about 5 holes various places in the top to let
out steam.
- Nuke it until steam and maybe a little juice come out. This would be
about 8.5e5 joules (neglecting conversion efficiency), or 12 minutes on
high
in a 1200 watt microwave oven.
- Bake at 450°F for 12 to 14 minutes to cook the crust. Take it out
when the crust begins to turn brown.
- Let stand for an hour before serving; it's uncomfortably hot when
just out of the oven.