Ingredients:

For the pastry:
• 180 grams Hockley Valley Premium Light Spelt Flour (or a mixture of white spelt and sifted wholegrain spelt flour), plus more for dusting the work surface
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 105 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4-5 tablespoons ice water (meaning, water which has been mixed with ice, and is very, very cold)

 For the custard:
• 200 g pumpkin puree
• 90 ml (or 6 tablespoons) maple syrup
• 40 g organic cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
• 3 eggs, well beaten

Instructions:

• To prepare the pastry, measure the flour (or flours, if using both white and whole grain) into a medium bowl.

• Add the salt, then blend it in with a fork. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter pieces into the flour, being sure to incorporate all the butter pieces, until the mixture has the texture of small peas.

• Make a well in the centre of the mixture, and add in 3-4 tablespoons of the ice water. Mix with a fork until the dough begins to clump together, adding 1-2 more tablespoons of ice water if necessary to help the dough come together (or add a bit more flour if your dough is very sticky).

• Press the dough together and shape it into a ball, then press into a disk. It is important not to overwork, knead, overheat the dough.

• Place the dough in some food wrap, or in a bowl covered with a plate, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes are up, dust your work surface and your dough disk with more spelt flour, then roll it out to about 12 inches.

• Transfer to your pie tin using the rolling pin. Trim the dough to about 1/2-inch wider than the rim of the pie tin, then tuck the edge under itself. Crimp or decorate the edge with a fork.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the bottom and sides of the pastry with a fork then line the empty pastry shell with a sheet of parchment paper. Fill the cavity with pie weights or dried beans, to help the crust hold shape during baking.

• While the oven heats up, return the pastry to the refrigerator to rest. When oven is at temperature, place the pastry-lined tin in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. Remove the parchment and pastry weights or dried beans, and bake the empty pastry shell for another 5 minutes.

• While the pastry bakes, make the filling. In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, organic cane sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until homogenous. Add the well beaten eggs, and continue whisking until the eggs are fully incorporated.

• When the crust is par-baked, gently pour the pumpkin mixture into the pastry shell. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake the pie for about 40 minutes, until the centre is set.

• Remove to a cooling rack and cool the pie fully before serving.

Yield: 1 pie