Recipe: Bubby's Ginger-Honey Apple Pie with All-Butter Pastry Pie Dough

GINGER-HONEY APPLE PIE

1 recipe Bubby's All-Butter Pastry Pie Dough (recipe follows)
1 cup good local honey (plus extra for drizzling over top crust)
2 tablespoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 pounds tart, crisp apples (we used Braeburn)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped candied ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch ground cayenne pepper
pinch salt

Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Rechill pastry until the filling is ready.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

In a small saute pan over low heat, heat the honey and fresh ginger for 20 minutes to infuse the honey with the ginger flavor. Remove the pan from heat and add the butter to melt it.

Peel, core and slice the apples about 1/4 inch thick. Measure the flour, lemon juice and zest, candied ginger, ground ginger, cayenne and salt on top of the apples. Toss the mixture to combine well. Add the honey mixture and stir gently.

Scrape the filling into the bottom crust and cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust. Chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer or 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

TO BAKE:
Set pie plate on a lipped baking sheet. Cut vent slits in the top crust and drizzle the top lightly with honey.

Bake in preheated 450 degrees F oven for 10 minutes, or until the crust looks dry, blistered and blond. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F and bake for at least 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust. Test the apples for doneness by poking a wooden skewer or small knife through the open slits in the top crust. The apples should be tender but not mushy. Cool the pie completely (for at least 2 to 3 hours) on a cooling rack before cutting.

TO SERVE/STORE:
Serve the pie at room temperature. Store the pie in a manner that allows the pastry to breath - either uncovered in a pie safe or covered with a light, breathable cover, such as a pie screen or single layer of cheesecloth, for up to 3 days.

BUBBY'S ALL-BUTTER PASTRY PIE DOUGH
Makes 2 (8- to 10-inch) crusts, serves 10

5 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
11 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Measure out water for the crust (with a bit of extra water in the measure in case you need a touch more) and add ice cubes. Chill in the freezer. Add the flour to a large bowl. Add salt and give a quick stir to combine evenly.

Measure out butter and coat the solid sticks with flour in the bowl. Using a dough scraper or a long butcher knife, cut butter lengthwise in half, then lengthwise in quarters, coating each newly cut side with flour as you go. Dice butter into 1/4-inch cubes. Break up any pieces that stick together and toss to coat with flour.

Press the blades of a pastry cutter through the mixture, bearing down repeatedly as you would to mash potatoes. Repeat until largest pieces of fat are the size of shelling peas and the smallest are the size of lentils. Rechill if necessary.

Begin to add the water slowly -- 2 to 3 tablespoons at first, quickly tossing mixture with your hands after each addition with light upward motion to distribute water evenly. Work dough as little as possible. Continue adding small amounts of water at a time. When there are no more floury bits, slow down and sprinkle or flick water in.

To test dough for consistency, lightly pat together some dough the size of a tennis ball. If the ball crumbles apart or has lots of dry-looking cracks, add a drop or two of water to the outside and work it a little. If it holds and feels firm and supple, mop up remaining crumbs with the ball. If they pick up easily, the dough is probably wet enough.

Divide dough into slightly uneven halves and shape each into a ball -- the larger for the bottom crust, the smaller for the top. Cover each ball tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Makes 1 (9-inch) double-crust pie, serves 10
Source: Bubby's Homemade Pies by Ronald M. Silver and Jen Bervin