There’s the faintest tinge of fall in the air when we get up — never mind what the calendar shows. I don’t know that I’m ready; I LOVE fall, but these lazy summer days have been really precious this year, even more so than usual. But, undeniably, time slips onward. My apple trees can attest to this, as they are full of quickly ripening fruit. Between our trees and those of our neighbors, I have plenty to fill pies, crumbles, crisps, and jelly jars.
I made summer’s traditional Gravenstein apple pie last week, choosing to sweeten it with coconut sugar and folding the apples between a surprisingly flaky oat flour crust. I adapted my favorite crust recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook to include gluten-free oat flour after remembering that in simple recipes oat flour can perform very similarly to wheaten flour. It is a perfect companion to apples and the baking pie filled our kitchen with the good smells of oat and apples and cinnamon.
I’m forever fiddling with pie crusts and I’ll never claim that one is the best or superior to any other. However, this one hooked me with its ease of assembly and solitary single origin gluten-free flour. I love the flavor and texture of oat flour and when paired with buttery it gave me the crust I was hankering for. I’ll try it with coconut oil as well, because it would be so helpful to have a simple vegan gluten-free crust. If you can’t do oats, sorghum flour by weight is a very good substitute. This recipe makes enough for a double crust 9-inch pie and freezes great. I’ll be trying it with pumpkin pie later this fall.
Til next time — N xx
Need substitutions? Try sorghum flour for the oat and cane sugar for the coconut sugar.
Gluten-Free Summer Apple Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 4 cups/350 g gluten-free oat
- 2 tsp coconut sugar
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold
- 8+ tbsp ice cold water
Filling
- 3 ½ lbs apples of choice, peeled, cored, and sliced
- ¼-½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
Make Crust
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or your hands until the flour is crumbly and the butter is well integrated. Using a fork, stir in the water a little bit at a time (you may not need all of it) until the dough holds together. Knead it with your hands until it can form a smooth ball, then divide the ball in half, press each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and rest in the fridge at least a half hour.
Make Pie
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Rub a pie pan with butter and have a baking sheet ready.
- Whisk together the coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl, then mix lightly through the apples. Pile in the apples. Place top crust on pie, crimp the edges, and cut a few vents in the top. Place pie on a baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned, apples are cooked through, and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove pie from the oven, place on a wire rack, and let cool completely, at least 2 hours, so the filling can set. Serve warm or at room temperature. Pie will keep, covered in the fridge, for up to 5 days.