One of the first times I baked with my third-generation Irish friend Ken he made one thing clear. He made apple pie one way and one way only. "It can't be goopy, it can't be too sweet" he explained, unprompted, while pacing across the kitchen. Reader, he was right. After having been treated to the Lumb Family Apple Pie, I am a believer. I decided to shine the introductory light on Ken because I spent most of my life not liking apple pie and thus felt a bit of a fake including such an iconic pie in my project. To me, apple pie is a textural nightmare and a flavor blah (except if you are making pie #9 - then it is a flavor WHOA). The only thing I had enjoyed about apple pie before being treated to the Lumb method was its aesthetic. The round top with slits and crimps is delightful and makes me smile with nostalgia much more than an elegantly cross-hatched berry pie or a triumphantly smoothed custard. So, by including Ken in this recipe, I can one, deliver a powerful story of redemption, two, give a great apple pie recipe, and three, not seem like a poser. The essential framework of the Lumb family pie, (if I may be so bold), is that you should let the apples speak for themselves, amplifying their voice only with more lemon than you think, exactly how much cinnamon you think, and far less sugar than you think. If you do that with confidence, and take a few paces around the kitchen, then you have followed the method exactly (in my book). Lumb Family Apple Pie
Yield: 1 pie | Total Time: 2-3 hours Recipe from the Lumb Family Ingredients Two rounds of pie crust 4 sweet-tart firm baking apples, roughly sliced More lemon juice than you think (a whole lemon's juice) Exactly how much cinnamon you think (2 tsp.) Less sugar than you think (A tablespoon?) 1 egg 1 Tbsp demerara sugar Directions Make dough and chill in two disks while you prepare the filling. Combine apples, lemon, cinnamon, and sugar and let marinate for a bit. Preheat the oven to 400°. Arrange apples into crust and pour remaining juices over the top. Crimp edge and brush whole top with egg wash. Sprinkle with demerara sugar. Cut a few 3" slits in top to let steam escape. Make the pie very cute. Bake pie at 400° until crust is beginning to take on color, 15–20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake, tenting with foil if crust is getting too dark, until crust is deep golden brown and juices are thick and bubbling, 45 minutes longer.
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