Sourdough Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

This is the best Sourdough Apple Pie with a delicious apple-spiced filling and a flaky sourdough cheddar pie crust. It's the perfect sourdough Thanksgiving dessert and pre-cooking the apple filling ensures you get perfect slices of pie every time.

See the notes for how to make the apple pie filling and the sourdough cheddar pie doughs ahead of time.

Instructions

Make the Sourdough Cheddar Pie Dough

Toss the flour, salt, and grated cheese in a mixing bowl. Add the cold, cubed butter and use your fingers to smash into pea-sized pieces.
Pour in the sourdough discard and toss with a fork until clumps form. Drizzle in the ice water and continue to toss until you have large clumps with craggily bits.
320 g All-purpose flour, ½ tsp Kosher Salt, 226 g Unsalted Butter, 200 g Sourdough Discard, 70 g Ice Water, 113 g Cheddar Cheese
Dump the shaggy, dry dough out onto a clean work surface and use a bench scraper to chop the dough to distribute the liquid. Knead gently with your hands to bring the dough together until you have a cohesive round, adding any dry bits on top while kneading.
Divide in half with the bench scraper and flatten each half into a thin disc and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Cook the Apple Pie Filling

Peel, core, and slice the apples to ⅛" to ¼" thick and add them to a large Dutch oven or pot.
Mix in the sugars, apple cider vinegar, spices, and cornstarch to completely coat the apples.
5 lbs Apples, 100 g Granulated Sugar, 200 g Light Brown Sugar, 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 ½ TBS Cornstarch, 1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar, ½ tsp Ground Cardamom
Cover the pot with a lid and simmer over medium-low, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning, for about 20 minutes until the apples are fork-tender.
Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and cool completely (increase the surface area to cool faster by pouring the mixture out onto a large baking sheet).
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Assemble and Bake

Remove one of the chilled pie dough discs from the refrigerator and rest for 5 minutes at room temperature to become pliable. On a lightly floured surface, roll it out into a 12-inch circle using a rolling pin (this will be your bottom crust). Refrigerate on a large plate or baking sheet while you roll out the second dough.
Repeat with the second dough, but this time use a pastry wheel or pizza cutter to slice 1" lattice strips from the round (you should get about 12 strips). Refrigerate the lattice strips on a large plate or baking sheet while you assemble the pie.
Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC) and beat an egg with a splash of water in a small bowl to make the egg wash.
Transfer the chilled bottom pie crust to a 9" pie plate pan with a 1" overhang on the sides. Trim the edges as necessary.
Pour the cooled apple pie filling into the pie pan and brush the edges of the pie dough with egg wash (reserve the egg wash for just before baking).
Arrange the lattice strips on top of the pie in horizontal and vertical rows and weave them (watch this tutorial if you've never made a lattice crust before).
Trim the end of the lattice to match the overhang, pinch onto the egg wash to seal, and roll the pie dough up and over to create a thick edge. Use your fingers to crimp or flute the edges into a decorative pattern or the tines of the fork to seal the crust.
Freeze the pie for at least 15 minutes before baking.
1 Egg, 2 TBS Raw Sugar
Brush the lattice with the reserved egg wash and sprinkle raw sugar on top for a crunchy, sparkly crust.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350ºF (177ºC), cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent burning, and bake until the crust is dark golden brown and flaky and the filling starts to bubble, another 55-65 minutes.
Cool until room temperature, at least 4 hours before serving. This makes slicing easier and ensures the filling sets properly.

Sourdough Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Equipment

Ingredients

Sourdough Cheddar Pie Dough (Double Crust)

Apple Pie Filling

Instructions

Make the Sourdough Cheddar Pie Dough

Cook the Apple Pie Filling

Assemble and Bake

Notes