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I made an apple pie just the other day, and everything came out fine. The only problem was that the filling didn't stick to the crust (home made butter crust if it makes a difference). Is there anything I can do in order to make the filling stick to the crust?

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Can you please edit this question to include your recipe and method so we can troubleshoot it for you? – daniel Apr 28 '11 at 21:55
Yes, please clarify what you mean by "filling stick to the crust". Do you have a gap? Is it too runny? – hobodave♦ Apr 29 '11 at 4:07

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I'm not quite sure what you mean by having the filling 'stick' to the crust, but if you mean that the filling slides out, then you probably haven't added enough thickener (usually flour or cornstarch) to your apples, so the juices that leak out during cooking are too thin.

Different brands and batches of flour/cornstarch, and different apples, will have different levels of liquidity - a bit of practice and experience is necessary to get consistent results.

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Flour sounds like a strange ingredient for apple pie filling; usually it'll be corn starch or tapioca starch. I suppose flour could work but you really only want the starch, not the protein. – Aaronut♦ Apr 28 '11 at 22:34
My apple pie recipe comes from Bubby's in NYC: they seem to do pretty well using flour... – ElendilTheTall Apr 29 '11 at 7:22
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Nevertheless, Elendil, cornstarch is a far more common thickener in apple pie than flour ever is. Unless you'd like to have a word with a few of the pastry chefs I know and was taught by...? – daniel Apr 29 '11 at 10:41
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Unless we compare every recipe known to man there's no way of knowing that for sure. Anyway, the point is, whatever thickening agent you use, if your filling is sliding out of the crust after cutting it needs more! – ElendilTheTall Apr 29 '11 at 13:23
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So much of making good apple pies relies on the apple type. You will never get the problem if you use Bramley apples, if you can't get those try to find Granny Smith apples.

Eating apples are really only good for making the sort of tartes the French make. If you are making pies, look for cooking apples.

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I disagree. Cooking apples usually result in an apple mush. A nice eating apple like a Braeburn softens nicely but still holds its shape and thus provides some texture. – ElendilTheTall Apr 29 '11 at 7:21
Though I would say I have seen a few recipes that use a mix of cooking and eating apples. – ElendilTheTall Apr 29 '11 at 7:30
Bramleys keep texture if you bake them uncooked in small pies. They go mushy if you try to think large. My favourite is Wingate Wonder but that is a local thing - only get them from a local farm shop. Cooking apples with texture. – Michael Hetton Apr 30 '11 at 3:30
I would describe Granny Smith as "eating apples" (they are the kind I eat) and those were also the kind that I was taught to make apple pie with. Bramley are OK too, but I wouldn't use a true soft-and-sweet "cooking apple" in an apple pie, because as Elenedil says, they have a tendency to turn into mush and also become almost sickly-sweet. – Aaronut♦ Apr 30 '11 at 15:07
As far as apple types go I will try the Granny Smith apples and will see how well the fare in my pie. Thank you all. – Yoni Erez Apr 30 '11 at 21:09

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