Adaptrix
Other fruit
Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots
and pears can all be turned into pies.

Adjust the sugar amount – increase
for super tart like sour cherries,
decrease a little for pears. Add the
zest and juice of half a lemon – stone
fruit loves the zing!
If your fruit is soft and juicy it will
need more cornflour to set the
extra juice. For example: cherries,
especially sours, exude a lot more
juice, so triple the starch. Apricots
will need double the cornflour.

One-piece top crust
Instead of cutting the top dough
into strips, top the pie with a single
sheet, cutting a few cute circles
out with a small 2 cm (¾ in) cookie
cutter, or snip with scissors to
make vents.

Lattice lousy
I only do a very basic 3 × 3 fat
strip one when I feel the (very, very
rare) urge to crosshatch. For lattice
learning, watch videos, buy Erin’s
books, and practise with modelling
clay or dough scraps.

Small pies
Line six small pie dishes and cut
out matching tops – I like a regular
round top. Prepare the filling but
cut the fruit pieces a little smaller to
match the smaller pie size. Bake for
30 minutes.

Hold a wooden skewer vertically against the outer edge of the dough.

With your other hand, hold your thumb and index fingers on either
side of the skewer. Then push the skewer into the dough and use
your fingers to pinch gently around the skewer as it moves inward –
setting the indent in place and hey presto … your first crimp! You did
it! Now repeat at 1.5 cm (½ in) intervals all the way around. Keep your
indents deeply defined – they’ll lose a little definition upon baking.

If any kind of crimp is frustrating, just press the back of a fork into the dough
on the dough edge (dip them in flour to avoid sticking). It’s so beautiful and
old timey, and exactly how my mother finished her pies.

Place the pie on the heated tray in the oven and immediately drop the
temperature to 170°C (340°F). Bake for 50–60 minutes, rotating the
pie once so it colours evenly. The saucy juices should just be starting
to bubble up through the top crust or edges. The internal temperature
will be 90°C (195°F). Bake too long and the apples will slump badly,
leaving you with a huge pie gap.

Buckwheat colours faster than white flour, so keep an eye on the edges. If
they are getting too dark too fast, take the pie out and lightly tent the top
with foil or crimp a piece onto the edges.

The bubbly interior juices indicate that the thickener (cornflour) in the
filling has become its fully realised cooked self, so when you cut the cooled
pie, the slices will hold nicely.

Cool for at least 3–4 hours before slicing – almost room temperature.

If you slice before the filling sets, the yet-to-set liquid will flow into
the space of the wedge you just removed. To staunch the flow, make
a V with folded-over foil and push it against the cut sides of the pie to
help hold the line until the pie cools further.