Apricot Jam Pie
Apricot Jam Pie is not your ordinary pie pastry, but made with an Eastern European sweet yeast dough, and a homemade jam made in the oven! With many names, an Apricot Sheet Pan Pie, Slab Pie or Apricot Pie Pirog.
Ingredients
Sweet Yeast Dough
- 1⅓ cups milk lukewarm
- 1 tablespoon Instant Yeast
- 8 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour plus extra for kneading
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
Apricot Jam in Oven
- 3½ pounds (1½ kg) fresh apricots pitted
- 1½ pounds (750g) white sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- egg wash egg yolk and 1 tablespoon whipping cream
Instructions
Making Sweet Yeast Dough
- Activate Yeast - Pour yeast, ½ of the lukewarm milk and 1 tablespoon sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in ½ cup of flour. Allow to sit for 15 minutes in a warm place until it starts to bubble and foam, to ensure the yeast is activated.
- Combine - In a smaller bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoons sugar, 5 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk in remaining milk. Add milky mixture into the bowl of activated yeast.
- Knead - Slowly add the remaining flour, mixing until it forms a dough ball. Knead on a floured surface, adding more flour if needed, for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Rise - Place dough into bowl, cover with cling wrap. Keep in a warm place until it rises, about 1 ½ hours. Punch down dough, gently knead and it's ready to use.
Making Apricot Jam in Oven
- Prepare Apricots - wash and dry apricots. Split and remove the pits.
- Mix - in a large bowl, sprinkle sugar over the apricots and mix to combine
- Release Juices - leave the sugared apricots on the counter for 3 hours for juice to release. Best results to leave overnight.
- Prepare Baking Sheet - line sheet with parchment paper which makes it easier to clean up.
- Bake - preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place apricots and liquids on the baking pan and cook for 1 hour. Occasionally mix the apricots and remove foam from the pan.
- Separate - using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the whole apricots into a bowl. Set aside the apricot syrup and use it to make apricot juice.
- Sweeten to thicken - mix in lemon juice and ¼ cup of sugar (more if needed). Gently break up apricot pieces until desired consistency is reached. Apricots shouldn't be pureed, but best to have some texture for jam pie.
- Cool - allow to slightly cool before spreading over your pie.
How to Make Jam Pie
- Preheat - oven to 325°F/160°C (fan forced). Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the Dough - on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into the shape of the baking tray. Roll it out to about ¼" thick (½ cm) and place on parchment paper. Entire baking sheet should be covered with dough.
- Spread the Jam - pour the cooled jam over the rolled yeast dough and spread evenly.
- Make Lattice - with any leftover dough, roll it out into long thin strips (about 14-16 strips. Using the knife tip, gently cut the edges of the strips (to resemble a Christmas tree on both sides of the strip). This gives a visual appeal like a leafy lattice pattern when baked.
- Spread Lattice - evenly spread the lattice in a diamond pattern, criss crossing over the jam pie. Pinch the ends to the edge of the pie dough.
- Egg Wash - whisk 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of whipping cream together. Using a brush, gently coat the lattice and edges of the pie.
- Bake - place in oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.