Out & About #937 | Apple Pie + Pear Galettes

Apple pie is a seasonal treat. No matter how controversial the declaration may be, I am convinced that apples cloaked in a warm, cinnamon-y glaze and enveloped within flaky pastries ought be reserved for the outdoors are chilly, and leaves are crunchy beneath one's feet.

For this year's attempt, I hadn't reviewed my past notes whatsoever. I merely knew my Bartlett pears had ripened rapidly in my absence and my Ginger Golds had patiently waited one whole week for any sort of attention.

At 9 AM, I got to work.

Four pie crusts would be assembled - in two batches of two to prevent wrist injury, shoulder fatigue, and spillage over the countertop. Once flattened into round discs, they were stacked and left to reside in the fridge for roughly one hour.

Given that the project would span just one day, the process would omit the step of "thawing". Flour could be sprinkled liberally over the rolling pin and disc without resulting in unwanted cracks. Two discs would be reserved for apple pie. One disc would be utilized for pear galettes. The final disc would be set aside for latter use, likely in the application of pecan pie.

In the meantime, four Ginger Golds would be retrieved from the past weekend's farm market visit. Halving the quantity used in SK's Even More Perfect Apple Pie recipe resulted in 900 g of apple - the rough equivalent of two medium-sized, one large, and one small Ginger Gold. The quad was peeled using my peeling gadget - acquired after last year's successive Apple Mania sessions - then cores removed with a melon baller. Instead of bite-sized chunks, I took to 0.5 cm slices instead.

These slices were then tossed in a bowl with lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger powder, pumpkin pie spice, dark brown sugar, golden yellow sugar, and a pinch of salt. While SK's recipe had used both brown and granulated, I had skipped white sugar to prevent excessive sweetness. Instead, a grand total of 99 g of dark brown sugar and yellow golden sugar made their way into the bowl. Lastly, an unmeasured sprinkle of glutinous rice flour found its way in.

​Ginger Gold is a particularly great variety for baking as it retains its shape well and weeps minimally. It is also quite tart, which, thankfully, compensated for the unexpectedly cloying output. Next time, I'll be reducing the sugar content though.

The pie would supposed to bake at 400 F for 75 minutes. My oven temperature has a tendency to fluctuate tremendously, so my own would bake between a range of 385 F to 425 F for about forty-five minutes. In the final thirty minutes, I covered the top with foil to prevent burning, then continued baking until the surface emerged golden brown and the insides bubbling but not gushing.

At long last, I saw success! The crust on the underside has not yielded. The apples were flavourful and textured, and the juices had thickened sufficiently.
While I've definitely had better lattice days, this one was not one of them. In spite of the lacking visuals, I was content - relieved even! - that I had finally produced a pie without a soggy crust.

I'd like to echo tips from previous attempts while appending new ones:

• For the standard pie, the quantity should really not surpass three large apples or four small-medium ones.
• Aim for Ginger Gold, which consistently works well in baking applications due to minimal moisture loss, toothsome texture, and fresh tartness. Other early season apples such as Golden Delicious and Mutsu have been observed as suitable picks as well.
• Use fresh pie dough for best results. If not possible, chilled pie dough should be allowed to rest for 15-20 mins at room temperature prior to rolling out to prevent cracking.
• Check pie crust thickness frequently to prevent rolling too thin; alternatively, consider portioning the dough into discs of 40:60 or 30:70.
• Egg wash is mandatory, as is coarse sugar. Lemon juice may be optional, given the oxidization rate of the apples, though assists with the formation of pectin, thus stabilizing the filling further.
• Baking in an oven-safe glass dish (Pyrex) has yielded significantly better results than tart rings in terms of even browning. It also doubles as a serving dish, which equates to less dishwashing and nixes the problem of removing crystallized sugar pieces altogether.
  

Five small Bartlett pears were handled in a similar manner, though tossed with vanilla bean paste and a sprinkle of nutmeg in addition to the pumpkin pie spice mix. The already soft fruit was then carefully portioned into two galette-like slabs and two mini pies, using mini loaf pans for support.

Both variations emerged splendid and, similarly, did not entail soggy crusts. While crystallized sugar rendered concern for detaching the mini slab pies from the pans, I was, miraculously, able to remove the creations intact with a small offset spatula, scratching the bottoms of the pans only slightly. They were delicious, delectably aromatic, yet not nearly as memorable as the classic Apple Pie.

​In hindsight, I ought to have learned from my pizza ventures that high heat tends to cause irreversible damage to pans. Each pan should be lined thoroughly with parchment, as to prevent scorched sugar can stain pans forever, ruining both my cookie sheet and Silpat.

​Assembled concurrently with the baking of the Apple Pie were a handful of Leek & Pork Dumplings. They were frozen to start, then pan-fried during "downtime". A dipping sauce of dark soy, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and toasted sesame seeds was also compiled with haste. Unfortunately, the condiment proved too sweet with three heaping tablespoons of granulated sugar.

​Eight dollars had granted the household six palm-sized chicken thighs. These pieces, along with a handful of frozen pineapple chunks, were allowed to marinate in a mixture of Diana sauce, Teriyaki sauce, and sesame oil for about one hour before being baked/roasted on a sheet pan.

​Beyond the chicken's innately mushy, starchy texture, the innovative dish had proved successful - even serving double duty in clearing out not one, but two expired sauce bottles! (Don't worry, they smelled fine.)