There's nothing that says summer more than a delicious peach pie.
Ingredients
For the pie crust:
16 tablespoons (225g) unsalted butter
1½ cups (170g) whole wheat flour
1 cup (145g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (26g) light brown sugar
½ teaspoons (3g) salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
3 lbs (1.4 kg) ripe peaches (about 9 small peaches)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup (90g) light brown sugar
2 (20g) tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 (20g) tablespoons cornstarch
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches of grated nutmeg
A few dashes of cinnamon
Instructions
For the pie crust:
Cut the butter into small pieces, stick them on a plate and pop it into the freezer for five minutes.
Put the flours, light brown sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until blended. On low speed, add the pieces of butter and gradually increase the speed to medium-low. When the butter chunks are the size of peas, reduce the speed to low and add the water one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Remove the dough, divide it into two equal pieces, press into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and pop them in the refrigerator for at least half and hour (or up to 2 days). You can also freeze this dough for up to 1-2 months, just let it thaw out for a day in the refrigerator before use. Now get your filling on.
For the pie filling:
Peel the skin off the peaches, pit them, slice them and toss them in a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice. In a separate small bowl combine the light brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, sea salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir until combined and then add the mixture to the peaches and toss to coat.
For the oven:
Preheat to 425°F.
To assemble the pie:
Flour a large work station. Now flour it again, you probably didn’t put enough. This dough heats up quickly and will turn into a frustrating doughy-buttery mess if you don’t flour the bottom and top enough. Don’t skimp.
Take out one of the pie disks and lay it on your now well floured table. Flour the top of the disk as well as the rolling pin and roll it out until it’s about 12-inches. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and gently lay it over a 9-inch pie plate so that there is some overhang. Add the fruit mixture and juices to the bottom pie crust.
Flour your workstation again, then roll out the second disk to a 12-inch round.
For a regular lidded top:
Simply roll up the dough onto the rolling pin and set it over the pie plate. Crimp the edges together and cut a few slits in the center so the pie can vent when cooking. You can also use cookie cutters to cut a decorative vent before you sent the crust on top of the pie plate. I hope to make my own video soon, but in the meantime you can watch this quick video to see how it’s done.
For a lattice-top:
Use a pastry wheel, pizza cutter or knife to cut the rolled out pie crust in 1-inch strips. Then weave together the lattice strips to form a lattice top. Trim off excess dough and crimp the edges together. I hope to make my own video soon, but in the meantime you can watch this quick video to see how it’s done.
For the finishing touches:
Brush the top of the pie with a extra virgin olive oil, milk or a beaten egg. Sprinkle with light brown or cane sugar.
Baking:
Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to bake for another 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. (Check on the pie a few times. If it is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil and continue baking as indicated above.)
Cooling:
Although it will be torturous to wait, let the peach pie cool 2-3 hours before serving so that the juices will have thickened up. Store the pie at room temperature or in the fridge. Slice and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.