A Wood-Fired Slice of Apple Pie

Apples, the magical fruit capable of scaring doctors away and brewing cider, form the backbone of a hallmark dessert in America. Apple pie is served by itself, a la mode, during every season and holiday we can think of, in forms from entire pies to prepackaged convenience store pockets. It’s a cultural monolith with its own catchphrase, as American as apple pie.

Interestingly enough, however, the apple pie got its start far from the United States; that didn’t stop us from making one in our brick oven, though!

The “American” apple

Despite the prevalence of folk myth like that of Johnny Appleseed, North America actually bears just one variety of apple. It’s the rather unfortunately named crabapple, and its small, tart nature makes it good for only one thing: Brewing cider.

Like many other crops now eaten as staples in the US, readily-eaten apples came to the Colonies by ship, a fact Culture Trip points out didn’t even make apples a viable crop until the European honeybee was later imported in order to make pollination of the trees possible.

Once the apple managed to get a foothold in the New World, however, they very quickly began taking on cultural characteristics and a distinct symbolism representative of the Colonies’ bounty. In Virginia, for example, apple trees became the choice arbor to mark property lines, a landscaping decision the Smithsonian explains became popular as a means for landowners to prove they had “improved” their plots, making them exempt from seizure.

Back in Europe, recipes existed for apple pie in England and the Netherlands as far back as the 1500s. A few notable differences existed, however. The prime example is the crust, which typically was a “coffin” crust that enclosed the pie for baking and wasn’t eaten with the dish.

In America, however, sugar became a cheap commodity on account of the Colonies’ proximity to the Caribbean, and including sugar in the crust made it part of the final product. Thus, the American-style apple pie was

Your own wood-fired dessert

When trying new wood fired oven dessert recipes, we've found that cooking an apple pie in our outdoor wood fired oven may keep the doctor away but it sure has family and friends swarming over!

Once you’re done serving pizza out of your oven, your guests will clamor for a sweet treat to end the night. For a delicious dessert you can cook in your residential wood fired pizza oven, follow this easy apple pie recipe full of spices, tart apples, and a perfectly flaky crust. This recipe was originally published by Taste of Home but we modified the directions slightly to allow for baking in your pizza oven.

Once you’re finished (and washed your hands if you got sticky fingers) let us know how your pie turned out!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 to 7 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large egg white
• Additional sugar

DIRECTIONS

1.  Before getting started, light your pizza oven and allow it to heat up to 375°. 

2.  In a small bowl, combine the sugars, flour, and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture; toss to coat.

3.  Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Fill with apple mixture; dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry to fit the top of the pie. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry.

4.  Beat egg white until foamy; brush over pastry. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover edges loosely with foil.

5.  Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.  Don't forget to turn your apple pie so each side gets fire time.

6.  Remove foil and bake 20-25 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 8 servings.

The only thing left to do is...ENJOY!

If you're looking for the best wood pizza ovens, check out the Chicago Brick Oven CBO-500 Countertop and the Prime Authentic Pizza Oven today!