Apple Pie

Pastry for 2-crust pie
4 to 5 cups tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 to 2 Tb flour
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb butter or margarine

Put apples in a large saucepan and steam or gently simmer in water until they wilt and begin to become transparent. (This is a partial cooking only so that apples will cook thoroughly in the pie.)
Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Mix well. Spread half of mixture over the pastry-lined pie pan. Lift apples from cooking liquid into crust. Add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Sprinkle pie filling with lemon juice and dot with butter. Roll, fit and seal top crust. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake on lower shelf of oven at 425 deg for 30 to 40 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Note: Apple pie is only as good as the apples it is made with. Tart, juicy apples are desirable, and some judgment is necessary as to amounts of sugar and thickening when sweeter, less juicy apples are used.