Phyllo Apple Pie from Homemade Phyllo dough:

Equipment: Baking ring 16cm in diameter, 6cm tall, sides lined with parchment paper, placed on top of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Recipe:

Apple Filling:

Nuts mixture:

Homemade Phyllo Dough (14 phyllo sheets):

Preparation instructions:

Apple Filling:

1. Into a large saucepan, add the cubed apples, butter, cinnamon and sugar, and mix them together.
2. Over high heat, cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat, drain the apples from their liquids, and transfer them into a separate bowl.
4. Add in the applesauce and vanilla extract, and mix them together to combine. Set to the site to cool off a little bit, then cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap, and store refrigerated until use. The filling will set the longer it stays refrigerated. The cornstarch should be added to the mixture right before the pastry is being filled.

Homemade Phyllo Dough:

1. Into a standing mixer bowl, fitter with the paddle attachment, add all of the dough ingredients: flour, salt, oil (1) and water.
2. Mix on the lowest speed for 10 minutes. Please note that after 5 minutes of kneading, it is recommended to unify and knead the dough by hand for a while, on a non-floured, non-oiled, working counter, and only then return the dough back into the mixer for 5 more minutes of kneading. The dough must be very smooth when shaped into a ball, and should not stick to your hands at all.
3. Divide the dough into 14 little dough balls, about 26g each. Into an empty tray, add oil (2), and put the dough balls into the tray, making sure to coat each one of them with the oil. Cover the tray with a piece of plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 1.5 hours (at minimum) or up to 24 hours at room temperature. Note that the dough must rest for long enough, so the gluten in the dough can relax and the dough can be easily stretched without pulling back.
4. After the dough had rested, using your hands, stretch the dough slightly and place it on a counter lightly dusted with some cornstarch. Dust the dough and rolling pin lightly with additional cornstarch, and start rolling the dough to a thin circle, 20cm in diameter.
5. Place the dough circle on a large plate that was lightly dusted with some cornstarch, and make sure to dust the top part of the dough as well.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the rest of the dough balls, making sure to dust with cornstarch between the dough circles. Flouring is very important as it prevents the dough to stick together in the next step. While you work on the dough, it is important to use a bench scraper to occasionally scrape any dough residues off the counter.
7. Over a counter lightly dusted with some cornstarch, place the entire pile of dough sheets and roll it together to a larger circle, 35cm in diameter. Pay attention not to roll the dough too thinly.

Assembly and baking:

1. Gently peel off a single phyllo sheet each time (start from the edges and work your way slowly to detach the sheet from the pile), and arrange it inside the prepared baking ring. Ensure that the dough is reaching all the way down to the bottom and also adheres to the sides of the ring. The edges of the dough will extend beyond the baking ring and that’s ok.
2. Brush the bottom and sides of the dough with a little bit of melted butter.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2, four more times (total of 5 phyllo sheets should be used to make the bottom layer).
4. Evenly sprinkle the chopped nuts at the bottom, and spread the apple filling evenly on top of them.
5. The extending dough edges should be trimmed with scissors- the edges are the toughest part to eat, of the homemade phyllo dough, since it is very challenging to utilize the full stretching potential of the phyllo sheet at the edge area. If you bake the pastry with the edges, they will be very tough and unpleasant to chew.
6. To make the covering “lid”: Gently peel off a single phyllo sheet each time, and place it on your counter. Brush it with butter, and place another phyllo sheet on top of it. Repeat this step with 4 more phyllo sheets (total of 5 sheets to be used for this step).
7. Using a baking ring 16cm in diameter, or using a knife, cut out the center part to a 16cm diameter circle, and place it on top of the apple filling. Dock the “lid” with a thick wooden skewer to allow the hot steam escape the pastry during baking. Brush the top part of the dough with some more melted butter.
8. The last remaining 4 phyllo sheets can be used to make decorative design on top of the pastry. Do not forget to brush the decorations with some melted butter as well.
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven, set to 175C (fan mode on), placing a baking rack at the lowest part inside the oven, for 1 hour. The pastry should be fully baked and nicely brown.
10. Allow the pastry to cool down for about 10 minutes before unmolding. It is recommended to allow the pastry to cool down at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.