The Peachiest Peach Pie
Pie crust for me is as much a psychological/spiritual experiment as it is a technique. If I’m in the right mood, if the stars are aligned, I can make a gorgeous pie crust. Other times? It looks like a graveyard for flour and butter that lived less-than-stellar lives. The first time I attempted this peach pie, I tried using my fingers the way that some of my pie mentors taught me: pinching in the butter, working in the water, etc. It was a disaster. The second time — which you see in this picture — I used a food processor. So much better! No matter how you proceed, remember to keep everything cold, cold, cold and to have confidence. As pie guru Kate McDermott told me: pie dough can smell fear. Truer words have never been spoken.
Ingredients:
For the pie dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks very cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 – 3/4 cups ice water
For the filling:
6 to 8 juicy, super-ripe peaches that are fragrant and lovely, cut into medium-sized wedges
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons corn starch
To finish:
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
Turbinado sugar (for sprinkling)
Either the night before you want to make pie or at least an hour before, make your pie dough. Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor a few times until combined. Take your VERY cold butter cubes and add them to the flour mixture, making sure everything is coated, before pulsing six to eight times, or until the mixture looks like a coarse mixture with pea-sized chunks. Add the cold water a little at a time, pulsing just a bit, until the dough looks like wet clay. Dump on to a floured board, bring together, cut in half, and shape each half into a disc. Wrap each disc with plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a 9-inch pie plate on top.
Make your filling by combining the sliced peaches (no need to peel them), sugar, lemon juice, salt, and corn starch with your hands. Taste to adjust for sugar and salt, then set aside.
On a floured board, sprinkle your first refrigerated disc of dough with a little flour. Whack with your rolling pin then confidently roll out, pushing out from the center, rotating 15 degrees each time and dusting with flour as necessary so it doesn’t stick to the board. You want to work fast so the butter doesn’t heat up. When you have a circle wide enough to overlap the pan with at least an inch overhang, transfer to the pie dish — allowing the dough to sink into the crevices without forcing them in (the dough will shrink as it bakes). Pour the filling inside; then roll out the other disc and place on top. Pinch the two dough circles together, use a scissor to trim (if necessary), then fold inwards and crimp stylishly. Cut three slits into the top of the pie, brush everything with the egg wash (that’ll make it turn nice and brown) and sprinkle with at least a tablespoon of Turbinado sugar.
Bake the pie for 20 minutes at 425, then lower the heat to 375 and continue baking for at least another 40 minutes, until the pie has nice color and the insides are bubbling (it has to bubble, or the corn starch won’t activate). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least four hours so everything sets up. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
