1 teaspoon water

1 tablespoon coarse sugar, such as demerara

Peel the apples. Cut off large sections of the apple around the core, then slice each section into 1/4-inch thick half-moons. You need about 3 pounds of apple slices, or about 8 cups.

Transfer the apples to a large bowl, sprinkle with the granulated sugar, and toss to combine, making sure there are no pockets of sugar in the bottom of the bowl. Transfer the sugar-coated apples to a colander, set the colander in the bowl, and set aside while preparing the dough and the rest of the ingredients, about 30 minutes.

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400 F. Place a baking sheet in the oven while it is heating. Unroll one of the pie doughs and transfer to a 9-inch standard pie pan. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate, being careful not to puncture the dough. Unroll the second pie dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a paring knife to make 5 to 6 large vent holes in this top crust. Transfer to a baking sheet. Refrigerate the pie shell and top crust while making the filling.

Remove the colander from the bowl and pour off the accumulated liquid. Transfer the apples to the now-empty bowl. Add the cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Toss by hand to coat.

Whisk together the egg and water with a fork in small bowl to make an egg wash. Brush the inside of the pie crust with some of the wash to coat.

Instead of dumping the apples into the crust, spend a few minutes laying and stacking the apple slices into the bottom pie crust. Don't worry about making things perfectly level, but avoid large gaps and you're less likely to get a shrunken filling and domed crust. The apples will be slightly taller than the pie pan. Discard any liquid left in the bottom of the bowl.

Lift the vented crust onto the filling and lightly press it down onto the apples. Pinch the edges of the pie dough to seal the top and bottom crusts together using your fingers or the tines of a fork.

Brush the top and edges of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.

Bake the pie on the preheated baking sheet until the filling is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. If the edges of the pie crust are browning too quickly, cover the edges with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.

Transfer the baked pie to a wire cooling rack and cool completely before slicing, about 4 hours.

RECIPE NOTES

Storage: Leftover pie can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

(Meghan Splawn is a writer for TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.)