Cinnamon Apple Pie

A proper apple pie baked in a pizza oven comes out with a crust that's flaky and deeply golden in a way that's hard to achieve in a kitchen oven. The gentle, even heat of a cooling pizza oven - around 160°C - is perfect for pastry: hot enough to set and crisp the butter, but not so fierce that it burns before the filling is cooked through. Use Royal Gala or Golden Delicious apples (or Bramley if you prefer a sharper filling), and don't skip the final cream wash - it gives the crust a beautiful, burnished finish.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

• For the pastry:
• 330g plain flour
• 250g cold butter, cubed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 and a half tsp fine salt
• 7 tbsp caster sugar
• 90ml cold water
• For the filling:
• 4 eating apples (Royal Gala or Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, and diced into 1cm cubes
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp double cream (for brushing the top)

Method

1. Make the pastry: combine the flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until you have a mixture like coarse breadcrumbs (or pulse in a food processor). Add the cold water gradually, mixing just until the dough comes together. Don't overwork it.
2. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Peel and core the apples, dice into small cubes (about 1cm), and toss with the lemon juice and sugar.
4. Roll out one disc of pastry to about 3mm thick and line a greased 23cm pie dish, pressing the pastry firmly into the edges. Trim the overhang.
5. Fill with the apple mixture, mounding it slightly in the centre.
6. Roll out the second disc and lay it over the top. Crimp the edges to seal, then cut 3-4 slits in the top to let steam escape.
7. Sprinkle the top with a teaspoon of sugar.
8. Bake in your pizza oven at around 160°C (this is a cooling oven after pizzas - perfect for pastry) until the crust is deep golden, about 40-45 minutes.
9. Brush the top with the double cream and return to the oven for 3-4 minutes until glossy and golden.
10. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or custard.