spiced apple lattice pie with walnuts & raisins

pie dough : 

• sift the flour and icing sugar together, add the salt and transfer to a large food processor and pulse for a few seconds and then add the very cold and grated or cubed butter and pulse several times until sandy
• mix together the apple cider vinegar, apple brandy, vanilla extract and ice water (or ice cubes) and gradually add the cold liquids to the sandy mixture inside the food processor, while pulsing several times until the mixture becomes smoother (but don’t overmix)
• transfer to a work surface, compress into 2 balls, one larger ball for the bottom crust (approximately 290 grams or 55% of the total dough) and one smaller ball for the top crust (approximately 240 grams or 45% of the total dough) and wrap each separately and refrigerate them while you prepare the filling

filling :

• core, peel and slice the apples into small cubes and place inside a large bowl, add the lemon juice and toss, then add the dry mixture of cornstarch, spices, sugar and salt and mix again and finally add the walnuts and raisins and set aside in the refrigerator

assembly :

• remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and roll out the larger ball on a floured work surface, into a large rectangle, then spread the flattened dough into a baking dish lined with baking paper and brushed with melted butter (my enamelled baking dish measures 26 cm x 20 cm x 3 cm, so I rolled it out into a rectangle measuring 33 cm x 26 cm) 
• sprinkle the cornmeal on the bottom of the pie crust and add the apple, walnut and raisin mixture on top 
• roll out the smaller ball of dough on a floured work surface, into a smaller rectangle (mine measured 27 cm x 21 cm) and cut into 2 cm wide strips (you will need 10-12 strips in total) and arrange 5-6 strips on the top of the tart, then interlace the remaining strips in between to create a lattice and seal the edges of the strips with water
• brush the top with the egg white and water mixture, then sprinkle with the sugar 
• place the assembled pie in the refrigerator for 60 minutes minumum (or 15 minutes in the freezer)
• preheat the oven to 200°C for 15 minutes
• bake for 50-60 minutes until the apples are cooked and the pie crust is golden brown, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and place the baking dish directly on the bottom of the oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, to crisp up the bottom crust
• *note : if the top of the pie becomes too browned, loosely cover with babking paper after the first 30 minutes of baking time …
• remove from the oven and let cool completely before lifting out of the baking dish (by grabbing the ends of the baking paper) and then slicing and serving (or serve warm if you prefer, with ice cream or whipped cream)
• *note : the assembled and unbaked pie can be frozen and well wrapped, and defrosted in the refrigerator for half a day before baking …