Apple Pie

Bottom Crust:

Mix 5 cups of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of sugar, and 2 tbsp of baking powder. Cut in 1 lb (2 1/3 cups) of lard or shortening until fine. In a 1 cup measure, put 1 egg yolk, 1 tbsp of vinegar. Fill cup with cold water. Stir in enough liquid to make dough into a ball. Chill at least 1 hour. Separate and roll or freeze for later.

(Variations: I've used both white and apple cider vinegar and they both work. If you are of the group that feels that white flour is of the devil you can make substitutions. If you're going to use smelt use half spelt and half flour (plus a little more spelt) to make it work.)

Filling:

After you core, peel and slice as many grannie smith plus one more firm, tart variety apples to fit your pie plate, add the following to taste: white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, all-spice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Of course freshly grated is best but the jarred spices work, too. Coat each apple piece well by stirring with a wooden spoon. By the end of the mixing process there will be a dark liquid at the bottom which is a tasty combination of apple juice and plenty of sugar and spices! Yum!

Pour apples into crust in pie plate, spreading evenly and packing down to fit them well.

(Note: filling apples must be firm and tart, otherwise you'll end up with a tasteless sugar-added applesauce filling. Having grannie smith plus another adds depth to the taste. I recommend gala or fuji as a complementary apple, but keep it mostly grannie smith.)

Crumb Topping:

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, and 1/4 cup rolled oats until smooth. Spread over top of pie.

(Variations: can substitute spelt completely in crumb topping.)

Bake pie in oven at about 425 degrees, covering the topping after 20-30 minutes to avoid burning. Total baking time is about 40 minutes. Let set.