Not-Your-Mom's Apple Pie

A whole-grain crust, extra apple-y filling, and caramel-nut garnish make this pie deliciously different.
Ingredients
Barley Crust
- 1 cup barley flour
- 3/4 cup King Arthur Organic All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
- 5/8 cup (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water
Filling
- 8 to 10 cups sliced apples (about 2 3/4 pounds whole)
- 1/4 cup boiled cider or apple juice concentrate
- 1/2 cup Baker's Cinnamon Filling (See "tips", below.)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Caramel drizzle
- 1/4 cup caramel, from a block, or approximately 11 unwrapped candies
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- To make the crust: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and buttermilk powder.
- Cut the butter into small cubes, and work it into the dry ingredients until crumbly, using your fingers, a pastry blender or fork, or a mixer.
- Whisk 1 tablespoon water and the egg together, then mix it into the dough. If the dough isn't cohesive, sprinkle with additional water until it holds together when squeezed.
- Divide the dough into two pieces: one should be about 2/3 of the dough, the other 1/3 of the dough. Shape each piece into a 1" thick disk, smoothing the edges.
- Wrap well, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or for up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- To make the filling: Toss the sliced apples with the remaining filling ingredients and set aside.
- Flour your work surface. Roll the larger piece of dough into a 14" circle. Use a pastry wheel or pizza cutter to trim the edge.
- Transfer the dough to a 9" pie pan at least 1 1/4" deep. Fill the crust with the apple mixture and fold the edge over the apples.
- Roll the smaller piece of dough into an 8 1/2" circle, trim the edge, and then cut into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on top of the apples.
- Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 350°F and continue to bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deeply browned and the juices are bubbling through. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before topping.
- To make the drizzle: Melt the caramel with the cream and vanilla over medium heat, or in the microwave. You may need to add more cream, depending on what kind of caramel you use. Bring to a boil, and stir until smooth.
- Cool slightly, then drizzle over pie; sprinkle with nuts.
- Store, loosely covered, at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate for 5 days. Freeze, well-wrapped, for up to 3 months.
Tips from our bakers
- If you don't have any Baker's Cinnamon Filling available, you may substitute 1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces, 64g) sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons (1 ounce, 28g) butter, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch.
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Reviews
I hesitate to recommend this recipe but only because it needs work. That may be my fault though. I ground up barley flakes in my food processor for about 10 minutes and nonetheless ended up with a very crumbly dough. No idea what barley flour's true consistency is supposed to be. The 9" dish is way too small for the amount of apples as well. I had to stop mid-prep and transfer the crumbly crust to a deep dish 12 inch pie plate, and the pile still stood so high that the apples couldn't cook well all the way through to do the slow bubble I always seek. The crust was impossible to serve without self-destructing! I need to order the flour from Bob's Red Mill and see if there's a difference. I used BRM flakes because I had them on hand. Wondering why KA doesn't sell it? Otherwise the pie tasted great. Pricy cinnamon roll filling though.Thanks for sharing your feedback with us, and we have good news to share. In the very near future, we will be selling barley flour once again, which we think will make all the difference in this crust. The dough should come together nicely and the flavor of the barley will complement the apples. As for your comment about the amount of apples, we like to use a lot of apples so the filling can be heaped up (about 8 cups of apples is standard for a tall 9" pie). Depending on the kind of apples you use, they tend to cook down and fit more snuggly into the pan at the end of baking (like what's shown in the photo). If you found you had better results using a larger pan, then we encourage you to make that adjustment again in the future. We hope your next experience baking this recipe is even more successful. Kye@KAF
I have made this pie multiple times and it is always a hit. I follow the recipe exactly. Great crust. Great flavor. Great presentation.
I had been looking at this recipe for some time, but hesitated on baking it because there were no reviews. Finally, I decided someone had to be first. The recipe does call for some specialized ingredients, but I happened to have all of them on hand, so I baked it today. It was easy to make and turned out much like the way it is pictured. The barley flour crust was flaky and delicious. I used Stayman apples and they stayed a bit crunchy in the one-hour baking time. My family prefers apples to be baked until soft, so I will increase the baking time next time. I liked the cinnamon in the filling, but would recommend decreasing the amount. The cinnamon took over a bit too much. The caramel topping turned out just right. All in all, a nice pie that I will tweak a bit next time. And I will probably find other uses for that wonderful barley flour crust as well.
Thank you for having the courage to be the first reviewer! I am happy you enjoyed the recipe and now know what to do for next time. Elisabeth@KAF