How to Make Apple Pie

Peel, core and slice three pounds of firm tart apples about a quarter inch thick. That comes out to roughly ten cups, which looks like far too many right up until they cook down.

Granny Smith on their own make a sharp pie. A mix of Granny Smith and something sweeter - Gala, Honeycrisp, Braeburn - is friendlier to most people at the table.

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In a bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon and salt until there are no streaks left.

The flour is the piece people leave out, and then wonder why the filling runs across the plate the moment they cut a slice. It thickens the juice the apples give up in the oven.

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Tip the apples into the sugar mixture with the lemon juice and vanilla, then toss until every slice is coated and the sugar has started to go glossy.

There is no pre-cooking here. The filling goes into the crust raw and finishes in the oven, and that is the whole reason this version is faster than most.

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Roll the first disc of dough into a 12 inch circle on a lightly floured surface, then settle it into a 9 inch pie plate.

Ease the dough down into the corners rather than stretching it across. Stretched dough pulls back down the sides as it bakes and you end up with a shallow crust and a puddle of filling.

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Whisk one egg with a teaspoon of water, then brush a thin layer over the bottom crust before any filling goes in.

This is the step that keeps the base from going soggy under ten cups of fruit. It takes about twenty seconds and it is the difference between a crisp bottom and a wet one.

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Pile the apples into the crust, then dot the butter over the top in six small pieces.

Mound the fruit higher in the middle than at the edges. Apples collapse as they bake, and a filling that starts flat bakes into a sunken pie with a gap under the lid.

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Roll the second disc to 12 inches and lay it over the apples. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust so the two edges are sealed together as one, then crimp the whole rim with your fingers.

Sealing the edge is what stops the filling boiling out of the side of the pie.

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Cut vents into the top crust - a large X and a few short dashes is plenty - then brush on the rest of the egg wash and scatter coarse sugar over the whole surface.

The vents let steam escape so the lid does not split or balloon. The coarse sugar is what gives a homemade pie that bakery-window sparkle.

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Bake on a foil-lined rimmed sheet at 425F for 15 minutes, then drop the oven to 350F and give it another 45 to 55 minutes. A wooden skewer should slide through the apples with no resistance.

If the crust edges are browning faster than the top, tent them with foil. Then leave the pie alone for several hours before cutting - warm pie slices into soup.

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