Pies baked from raw dough (no blind baking) can be prone to a soggy
bottom. This can be avoided by intensifying the heat the pie bottom gets.
A pizza stone will also help to crisp up the base.

Peel the apples and cut into quarters. Slice the cores off and cut each
quarter into 4 mm (⅛ in) thin slices. You should aim to have around
750 g (1 lb 11 oz) of prepared apple weight. Grate the nutmeg in,
then massage in the remaining filling ingredients with your hands.

Cutting the fruit into slices instead of fat chunks will help the fruit cook
thoroughly in a shorter amount of time. Don’t let the raw filling sit around
for too long, as the fruit will start to exude juice when it meets the sugar and
lemon juice, making the filling and then the pie base soggy.

Adding butter to the filling will give the apple sauce that forms inside a
gorgeous gloss.

Grab your chilled dough base and top circle. Tumble the apple mix
into the crust and gently shuffle the pieces to sit slightly domed.

While the top dough is still on the tray, egg wash evenly and sprinkle
with the topping sugar. With a pizza wheel or knife, cut the circle into
seven to nine diagonal strips.

Start to move the strips from the paper to the pie, laying them on
the pie in the same order as they were cut. Overlap each piece by a
millimetre or two so there are no gaps. Around the edges, press the
top dough to the overhang on the base, then trim around the pie,
flush against the tin edge. Go back around the pie and lightly pinch
a small section of the dough edge so it thins a little. Then fold that
dough underneath itself to form a little and neat raised edge.
The overlapped top dough pieces will separate enough to make natural
steam vents AND keep all the fruit moist inside.

Now we crimp. The egg wash topping should help you avoid sticky/
smeary fingers, but if you need to, use some cold water (not flour)
on your fingers.