Elegant Farmer Pie Recipes

APPLE PIE BAKED IN A BAG

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening and butter until mixture is uniform and resembles coarse cornmeal.
• Sprinkle the cold water over the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing lightly with a pastry blender. Just only enough water to hold the dough together. The dough must not be sticky-it should come away from the bowl clean.
• Divide dough in half, then use your hands to shape the pastry into a ball then flatten it with your palm. Either wrap each half of dough tightly in Seran wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight at this point, or continue. Between two sheets of lightly floured waxed paper or Seran wrap, use light strokes from the center in all directions to spread the pastry into a circle about 1 inch large than the top of your pie plate. (To prevent wax paper from slipping, sprinkle a drop or two of water on the counter or work area before placing the dough down.) Repeat with each circle and set aside.
• Peel top sheet of waxed paper from one of the pastry circles, but leave the back on. Then, rest dough on hand and wrist and gently lift onto a 9-inch pie plate and ease dough into place inverting it, but do not stretch. Set pie plate and dough for top aside.
• Preheat oven to 375° F. Core apples and slice into 1/8-inch half-moons. Add to a large bowl, then toss with cinnamon, tapioca, sugar, flour, and lemon.
• Add an even layer of flour to the pie plate assembled in Step 4 of making the dough (this will soak up some of the moisture and ensure a crisp bottom crust). Being careful not to add too much of the moisture pooled at the bottom of the bowl, transfer the filling into the prepared crust.
• Very carefully peel wax paper off of the second pastry circle and invert over the filling. Trim the edges, if there's excess, and flute the edges if able. Brush with whisked egg white.
• Place the pie onto a rimmed baking sheet, and create a bag out of parchment paper. This can either be done by taking two pieces of parchment paper, large enough to fit the entire pie inside, and stapling three of the edges together-use plenty of staples here, the idea is that steam cannot escape. Then carefully put the pie inside, staple it in, and place onto the baking sheet. This works great for presentation-as you can serve the pie with the bag. Alternatively, pull a sheet of parchment across the pie and tuck in the edges, then pull another sheet to layer over the first perpendicularly and tuck in the edges carefully so that the pie is pinning it down.
• Place the pie in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, remove it from the oven and raise the temperature to 425° F. Using a pair of scissors, carefully (steam will escape and the pie will be hot!) cut open a hole that goes just up to the edges of the pie, roughly 8 inches in diameter (so that it leaves the top of the pie bare, but still covers the edges). Once the oven has reach temperature, return it for 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and eat (with ice cream!).

APPLE PIE BAKED IN A BAG

Steps:

• Make the Crust: In a food processor combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces appear. Add the water and pulse briefly¿it will still look crumbly. Transfer the crumbs to 2 pieces of parchment paper or foil and form into 2 disks. Wrap the discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out 1 disk to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Keep rolling until the circle is at least 2 inches larger than your pan. Line the pie pan with the dough, letting the edge hang over a bit. Roll the second disk, place it on a sheet pan and chill it until you're ready to build your pie.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Make the Filling: In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together. Transfer to the pie shell and dot with the butter. Brush the overhanging edges of the dough with water. Carefully cover with the rolled-out top crust and pinch the edges together, turning them under all around to make a thick edge. To decorate the rim, press it all around with the back of a fork, or just pinch it to seal. With a scissors, cut a few V-vents in the center.
• Slide the pie into the brown paper bag and fold the top down. Staple bag shut and place it on a sheet pan. Bake for 1 hour.
• Remove the pie from the oven and cut a large circle in top of the bag. Return to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes more.
• Let the pie cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

APPLE PIE IN A BROWN PAPER BAG

Steps:

• To make the bottom crust, stir the flour and white sugar together in a bowl until well-combined. Rub the unsalted butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle with cold water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing the dough together lightly with a fork until it barely holds together.
• Form the dough into a ball and roll it out to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Gently ease the dough into an 8-inch pie dish. Cut off any excess pastry with a knife. Finish the edge of the crust by gently pressing the tines of a fork into the dough all the way around the edge of the pie dish. Set the crust aside.
• To make the pie filling, stir the apples, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and lemon juice together in a large bowl; set aside.
• To make the topping, mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of softened butter, and the superfine sugar together in a bowl until you have a sticky, moist dough.
• To assemble the pie, cover the bottom of the pie crust with a light, even layer of graham cracker crumbs. Fill the pie with the apple mixture, piling it up in a mound shape. Pinch off pieces of the topping mixture, flatten them a little with your fingers, and dot them at random all over the top of the filling, covering as much of the filling as possible.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Tear off 2 30-inch-long pieces of parchment paper and place them in a cross shape on a work surface. Place the filled pie in the center of the two pieces of parchment, bring the paper ends up over the pie and fold and staple the parchment paper over the pie to completely enclose and seal in the pie. The paper should not touch the top or sides of the pie. Place the parchment-wrapped pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Don't peek inside the parchment paper while baking. Remove from the oven, carefully tear the parchment paper away from the pie, and let cool; serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.