Apple Tart with Soft Pretzel Crust
Photo by Nico Schinco
MAKES
One 12 inch / 30 cm tart
TAKES
Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 50 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
Two things I love in the fall: apple desserts + warm soft pretzels. That’s how this “pie” was born. This recipe uses my favorite soft pretzel dough as the base for a freeform pie baked on a baking sheet. Before baking, it’s topped with overlapping layers of fanned sliced apples. The apples help to weigh down the center of the “pie”, then the outer edge rises around to lightly encase the filling. Sweet + salty - a fall (and crowd-pleasing) favorite!
INGREDIENTS
Pretzel Tart
420 g / 3 ½ cups bread flour
25 g / 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 g / 1 teaspoon instant yeast
6 g / 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
170 g / ¾ cup warm water (about 95°F / 35°C)
35 g / 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Soaking Solution
54 g / 3 tablespoons baking soda
226 g / 1 cup water
Assembly
egg wash, as needed for finishing (see Note)
flaky salt, as needed for finishing
pearl sugar, as needed for finishing (see Note)
400 g / 2 medium apples such as Honeycrisp, Gala, or Fuji, core removed, thinly sliced
56 g / 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
66 g / ⅓ cup granulated sugar
Ready to Head to Pie School?
METHOD
1. Make the Dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, water and butter on low speed for 3 minutes. Raise speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes more.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until it’s doubled in size.
3. Make the Soaking Solution: Bring the water to a simmer in a small pot over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil, stir in the baking soda. Heat over This mixture will be used to soak the pretzel to create the signature pretzel exterior (see Note).
4. Assemble the Tart: When the dough has risen, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 12 inches / 30 cm wide. Gently transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Towards the end of rise time, preheat the oven to 425°F / 218°C. Use a pastry brush the dough all over with the soaking solution 4 times. Let this mixture dry for about 10 minutes, then brush the surface of the dough all over with egg wash. Sprinkle flaky salt and pearl sugar around the outer edge of the crust.
6. Arrange the apples evenly over the dough. Fan the slices out and then overlap the fanned sections as needed to fit all the apples on top, but leaving 1 inch / 2.5 cm of excess dough all the way around the dough.
7. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the apples, and sprinkle the sugar evenly over them.
8. Transfer to the oven and bake until the pretzel is deeply golden brown and the apples are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
NOTES
The baking soda mixture makes the crust brown and the dough chewy - the signature exterior of the pretzel.
This is traditionally done with food-grade lye, which does a wonderful job, but is also a powerful chemical that can impart chemical burns if not handled carefully.
The baking soda alters the pH of the water, producing a similar exterior chew for the pretzel crust.
But the baking soda soak doesn’t help with browning, so the extra step of egg washing aids with this part!
To make egg wash, whisk 56 g / 1 large egg, 15 g / 1 tablespoon water, and a pinch of salt until combined.
Looking for pearl sugar? Find it here!
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
