Apple pie the Dutch way, or as we say in NL a ‘Vlaai’. In this case an ‘Appelvlaai‘. The dough is not a flaky pastry dough but a yeast dough that has to rise.
Add yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar to the lukewarm milk. Set aside for 10 min.
2
Add salt, cinnamon and flour into bowl of stand mixer.
3
Add yeast mixture to the flour. Also add the oil, egg yolk and honey.
4
With the dough hook attached, knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball.
5
Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour.
6
Peel and cut the apple in thin slices and add them to a bowl.
7
Drizzle the lemon juice over the apples and toss.
8
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and add this to the apples. Toss and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside.
9
Butter the inside of a 26cm pie pan and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
10
Divide the dough 5 equal pieces, combine 3 for the base and the other 2 for the top.
11
Roll out the dough for the base. Make sure it's big enough to come up the sides.
12
Transfer the dough to the pie pan and with a fork prick some holes
13
Add a thin layer of breadcrumbs on the base and place the slices of apple on top of that.
14
Roll out the dough for the top big enough to cover.
15
With the help of a 'vlaai raster' transfer the dough to the pie pan and place over the apples.
16
--If you don't have a 'vlaai raster', make a few long dough strips and place them over the apples--
17
Pinch the dough to the base dough with a little bit of water.
18
Wet/spray the dough with water and sprinkle some sugar over the top.
19
Bake the vlaai in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
20
Place a oven safe bowl in the oven with some water to prevent the crust from drying out
21
Cover the vlaai with some aluminum foil if the top browns too fast
22
The vlaai is done when it has a golden brown colour and the dough comes away from the pan.
23
Brush some apricot jam over the top to make it shiny.
24
Remove the vlaai from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
The apple slices will still have a bite to them after baking the vlaai, if you want a softer filling, I suggest cooking the apples till soft before placing them in the pie pan. I will try this out next time I make this.
