a simple real food recipe :: apple pie :: allergen free options

I started playing around with pie recipes years ago.I wanted to enjoy the holidays like everyone else, but I was working on some gut healing and had a few different foods eliminated from my diet for a time. I didn’t want to ruin the healing that was taking place so I worked on numerous grain free, or dairy free, or egg free, etc recipes over the years. Many of them actually turned out very good.

The recipe today does include grains since my family and I can handle them. If you are on a grain break, I encourage you to google grain free crust – either use coconut flour, or a nut puree based crust – they are very yummy and work just as good. You can still use the same filling as this pie.If you can handle grains, this recipe uses a soaking method to help the grains be more nutritious and digest better. If you are able to afford sprouted flour, by all means just make normal pie crust dough with that. Our budget doesn’t afford that right now, so my flours are soaked for better digestion.

Please use the comments section at the bottom of this post to ask me some questions if you are on special diets. I would love to help. I am not a pie expert, but I am pretty well versed in working with food eliminations and how to substitute 🙂 I have pretty much had to do them all before at some point!FOR THE CRUST (for ONE pie):

3 ½ cups unbleached wheat or spelt flour (if you are gluten free use brown rice flour) (I get my flour stone ground in a refrigerated section at our health food store – you could get King Arthur if you don’t have this option)

1 cup whole plain organic yogurt

1 ¼ cup lard or softened butter (if dairy free use lard or coconut oil)

1 tsp sea salt

1. The night before you want to bake the pie, combine these ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead slightly with your hands.
2. Separate the dough into 2 balls – one a little bigger than the other for the bottom of the pie plate and the smaller one for the top.
3. Leave the dough balls in the bowl and cover with a towel. Leave to soak for 12-24 hours under the light in your oven or in a warm spot in your kitchen. The soaking breaks down the phytic acid in the grain making it more digestible.
4. After 12-24 hours of soaking, roll out the bigger ball and press into your pie plate. Now you are ready to fill your pie!

FOR THE FILLING (for ONE pie):

3 lbs granny smith apples
¼ cup arrowroot or organic corn starch
¼ cup sucanat or organic pure cane sugar
(if you like a very sweet pie you could go with more)
1 TB cinnamon
Lemon juice for keeping apples from browning (will use maybe a couple TB)

1. In a small bowl, mix the arrowroot, sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Peel and core the apples. I throw them into a bowl while I’m cutting and squirt lemon juice and toss while I go to keep them from browning.
3. Put a layer of apples in the bottom of the pie crust and then sprinkle some of the arrowroot/sugar/cinnamon mixture over top.
4. Layer more apples and sprinkle more of the sugar mixture until you have used them all up.
5. Roll out the small ball of dough and lay on top of the apples.
6. Trim the edges and press the bottom and top dough layers together with the back of a fork to crimp.
7. Use a fork to poke some holes in the top of the crust so it can breathe while it bakes.
8. Brush melted butter over the top of the pie and sprinkle with cane sugar. If you are dairy free use coconut milk.

BAKING TIMES (BASED ON HOW YOU LIKE YOUR APPLES):

*If you like a “bite” to your apple (a little crisper – not crunchy but not mushy) then bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes. Keep your eye on the crust for color.

*If you like a “mushier” apple (not soggy but no “bite” to it), then loosely cover the whole pie with foil and bake 45 minutes. Then take off the foil and bake another 20-30. Keep your eye on the crust for color.Kitchen Tips:

1. You can see the thickness of crust in the pictures – if you prefer a thinner crust just make less dough – I would say you could probably get away with doing a half recipe and make it work.
2. Play around with the cinnamon flavor – I LOVE a few pinches of nutmeg and cloves added in too!
3. Let your pie completely cool before cutting so that the liquid is soaked back in. The arrowroot helps thicken the liquid but if you cut it right out of the oven it will be runny. I like to let it cool and then refrigerate. You can set it back in the oven to warm up if you like your pie warm. Pies are nice to make ahead of time before a big dinner and just keep in the fridge. You can always stick it in the oven while you are having dinner to warm up before dessert!
4. Try your pie with a side of real ice cream, or topped with real whipped cream!YOUR TURN!

Do you love apple pie as much as I do?! Let me know how you like it if you try it!

This post was shared at Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday, Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, and The Polikva Family’s Family Table Tuesday!