White Peach Pie with Lattice Crust

Posted: August 17th, 2010 | Jessie | | Tags: peaches, pie | No Comments »

As I was making this pie I kept thinking, “This is why I don’t make pies very often.”  Even though there are fewer steps and fewer ingredients than your typical cake, baking a pie feels much more time consuming.  Peeling and slicing the fruit seemed to take forever.  But then I started making the lattice crust, and it was so easy and looked so beautiful that I resolved to make more pies.  And when I tasted the pie this desire became even stronger.  It was by far the best crust I’ve ever made.  It’s tender and buttery and really wasn’t that difficult to work with.  This pie bag made rolling the crust a breeze, but I see no reason why two sheets of Saran Wrap wouldn’t serve the same purpose.

The key to making your crust easy to work with is having really cold ingredients.  I cut my butter into small pieces and then put it in the freezer while I measure the dry ingredients.  For the ice water I fill a large cup with ice and then top it off with water.  This keeps the water chilled and also makes it easier to measure.

There are two common challenges when making a fruit pie.  The first is making crust and the second is getting a proper consistency for the filling.  When I made an apple pie this spring it was so watery that I had to put a paper towel in the cut pie to soak up all of the liquid.  When you’re making fruit pie and add the sugar to the fruit it starts to expel water.  To prevent all of this water from ending up in my filling, I added the sugar to my peaches, let them sit for 5 minutes, and then drained them.  The picture above shows how much excess liquid I poured off.  Once the peaches were drained I added the spices, flour, and corn starch.

Making a lattice top crust is actually really simple, but looks fancy.  I followed the wonderful step by step instructions on Simply Recipes.  I’d say the whole process took less than 5 minutes.  Aside from looking really beautiful, the lattice crust worked really well since my bottom crust was just a tiny bit too small to fill the pan.  With the extra scraps I had from the lattice top I was able to make a crimped crust edge for my pie.

Buttery Pie Crust

from Bon Appétit

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water – I used 6 tbsp.

Filling

8 medium peaches – peeled and sliced
Since my peaches were quite firm I was able to peel them with a vegetable peeler.  If they’re soft you will need to blanch them to get the peels off.
3 tbsp. cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. corn starch
1/2 cup to 1 cup granulated sugar (adjust the sugar depending on how sweet your fruit is)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

For Crust:

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add chilled butter and rub in with fingertips until small pea-size clumps form. Add 5 tablespoons ice water; mix lightly with fork until dough holds together when small pieces are pressed between fingertips, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together; divide into 2 pieces. Form each piece into ball, then flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.

For Filling:

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Roll out 1 crust and drape in pie pan.

Mix sliced peaches with 1/2 cup (to 1 cup) of sugar.  Let rest for 5 minutes.   Pour off excess liquid.  Add flour, corn starch, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Mix to combine.  Pour into bottom crust.

Roll out second crust and cut into half inch strips.  Follow these instructions to create lattice top.

Make and eggs wash by mixing an egg with a tbsp. of milk.  Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. I did not brush my pie with an egg wash and it turned out a bit too pale.  Next time I won’t skip this step.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425°.  Reduce temperature to 350°.  Bake another 45 to 55 minutes.  The pie is done when the top is golden brown and the fruit inside is tender.  If your top crust starts to brown before the fruit is cooked, cover with a tent of aluminum foil.

When the pie comes out of the oven let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Note:  I left my pie out on the counter.  I returned from work two days after I made it looking forward to eating my last slice of pie.  It was covered in mold!  Don’t make my mistake.  Store it in the fridge if you don’t finish it the day after it was baked.

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