This was another post sitting in my drafts just before I left for our Summer holiday, using those luxuriously delicious, rose-scented peaches from this tree.
Perfectly ripe, with a few organic, nature-loved and blessed blemishes. I was reluctant to make this, as it seemed a shame to cook them, but there were so many. And, of course, all at once, and they needed to be used. It was delicious. For me, pie is such luxurious comfort food that it is all the more made better with home-grown produce.
It has been a good year in our small orchard, with more to come.
a summer peach lattice-top pie
ingredients
350 grams flour (I used 250g white & 100g whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
½ cup sugar
200g unsalted pure butter
100mL very cold water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
peach filling
5 medium/770g peaches (use peaches that are not too ripe)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
⅔ cup light brown sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
preparation
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mix. Cut the butter into hazelnut-sized pieces and add to the flour, making sure all the butter pieces are well coated with the flour. Cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour or overnight.
- In a food processor with an S-blade attached, add the very cold flour and butter and process for 20 seconds (the mixture should resemble fine meal). Then, stir the vinegar with the icy water and pulse in short bursts. The dough will still look crumbly, but if you press it between your fingers, it should become smooth. If the dough is too dry and is not coming together, add iced water, a tablespoon at a time.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Gather and press the dough together to form a unified mass. Cut the dough in half and put each on a large plastic wrap. Loosely cover the dough with plastic. Using the wrap as an aid (to avoid warming the dough with your bare hands), shape the dough into a disc. Wrap each piece tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours (ideal).
prepare the filling
- Halve each peach, remove the pit, and slice each half into roughly 2 cm chunks. Place the peaches in a large bowl and add lemon juice. Sprinkle sugar over the peaches and toss gently to mix. Let the peaches sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Transfer to a colander, suspended over a bowl to collect the juices; you should have almost 1 cup of liquid (if the peaches sit for several hours, you’ll have 1½ cups of liquid). Mine sat overnight, so I was left with a lot of juice.
- Pour the juices into a small saucepan set over medium heat. Boil the liquid to reduce it, swirling until it’s syrupy, about 10 minutes; it should reduce to ⅓ to ½ cup, depending on how much liquid you started with. Set aside to cool for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, transfer the peaches to a bowl and toss them with the cornstarch until all traces of cornstarch have disappeared. Pour the reduced peach juice over the peaches, tossing gently. Place in the fridge to cool.
prepare the pie
- Roll out the bottom crust. Remove one disc of dough from the fridge. If it is very firm, let it sit at room temperature until it’s pliable enough to roll, about 10 to 15 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between two pieces of lightly floured cling film and roll it out into a circle an inch bigger than the pie dish.
- Butter a pie dish (mine was 26cm in diameter) and line it with the pastry, leaving an even overhang around the edge. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the top crust, remove the other disc of dough from the refrigerator and let it sit until pliable enough to roll. Roll the dough between two pieces of lightly floured cling film into another circle. Leave whole or cut into strips, no more than a ⅛ inch thick. Use a ruler to cut about ten x ¾ inch wide strips lengthwise. You may have to join the shorter ones together. The ruler helps to measure and cut a straight edge. I used a fluted pastry wheel to get a crimped edge. You may need to place it in the freezer for 5 minutes if the dough is too warm.
- Remove the pie shell from the fridge, stir the peach filling a few times, and scrape it into the shell.
- Arrange five strips of dough evenly over the filling, starting with a long strip for the centre. Gently fold back every other strip (the second and the fourth) to a little past the centre. Choose another long strip of dough, hold it perpendicular to the other strips, and set it across the centre of the pie. Unfold the two folded strips so they lie flat on top of the perpendicular strip. Now, fold back the strips that weren’t folded back last time (the first, third, and fifth ones). Lay a second perpendicular strip of dough about a ¾ inch away from the last one. Unfold the three folded strips. Fold back the original two strips, set a third perpendicular strip of dough ¾ inch from the last, and unfold the two strips. Repeat on the other side with the two remaining strips: fold back alternating strips, lay a strip of dough on top, and unfold. Remember to alternate the folded strips to create a woven effect.
- Trim the strips to a ½-inch overhang. Lift the edge of the bottom crust over to enclose the top, rolling inwards and pressing to make it adhere. Crimp or flute the edges if you like.
- Lightly cover the assembled pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 30 minutes of chilling, set an oven rack on the lowest rung and put a foil-lined baking stone or baking sheet on it. Heat the oven to 215C/425°F.
- Brush the lattice with the milk, sprinkle with the sugar, and set the pie directly on the baking stone or sheet. Bake until the juices are bubbling (the bubbles should be thick and slow near the pan edges), approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Let the pie cool on a rack until the juices have thickened, approximately 2 hours.
Serve with homemade vanilla ice cream or thick Greek yoghurt.
Goodness shared from Stacey