Fresh Peach Pie

Before you start

A peach pie is only as good as the peaches. Look for fruit that smells sweet and gives slightly near the stem; rock-hard peaches bake up bland, and very soft ones collapse. Freestone varieties, which ripen in mid to late summer, are much easier to slice than clingstones.

Ripe peaches release a lot of juice once sugared. Rather than fight that juice with heaps of starch, let the slices sit with sugar for an hour, drain the liquid, and boil it down to a syrup before adding it back. The filling keeps its fresh flavor, the bottom crust has a chance to bake through, and the slices set into soft layers instead of swimming. This crust uses a spoonful of sour cream, which makes it easy to roll and pleasantly tender.

Ingredients

• Crust325 g (2⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter — cold, cubed
• 60 g (¼ cup) sour cream — cold
• 60–90 ml (4–6 tbsp) ice water
• Filling1.6 kg (about 8 medium) ripe freestone peaches
• 130 g (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 30 g (¼ cup minus 1 tsp) cornstarch
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg or cardamom
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Finish1 large egg yolk — beaten with 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp coarse sugar

Method

1. Cut the butter into the flour, sugar and salt until pea-sized. Stir the sour cream into 60 ml ice water and add it, tossing until a shaggy dough forms; add more water only if needed. Halve into two disks, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Score a small X in the bottom of each peach, lower them in for 30 to 60 seconds, then move them to ice water. The skins should slip off; a paring knife helps with stubborn spots.
3. Halve, pit and slice the peaches 1.5 cm (⅝ in) thick; you should have about 1.3 kg of slices. Toss them with the sugar, lemon juice and salt in a colander set over a bowl and let them drain for 1 hour.
4. Boil the collected juice, often 180 to 240 ml, in the saucepan until reduced to about 80 ml (⅓ cup) and lightly syrupy. Toss the drained peaches with the cornstarch, spice and vanilla, then pour the warm syrup over them and stir.
5. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F) with a baking sheet on the lowest rack. Roll one disk to a 30 cm (12 in) circle and fit it into the plate. Add the filling and level it.
6. Roll the second disk to 28 cm (11 in) and drape it over the fruit. Trim, fold and crimp the edge. Brush with the yolk wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and cut five slits from the center outward. Chill for 15 minutes.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190°C (375°F) and bake 45 to 55 minutes more, until the top is deep amber and thick juice bubbles through the slits. Shield the edge with foil after the first 40 minutes if needed.
8. Cool on a wire rack for 4 hours so the filling can set.

Tips for success

• Do not toss the juice. Reduced, it becomes the most concentrated peach flavor in the pie.
• If the peaches are less juicy than expected and give off only a few spoonfuls, skip the reduction and cut the cornstarch to 22 g.
• A yolk-only wash browns deeply and gives the top a glossy finish that looks good in summer light.

Substitutions

Fresh peaches

Use 1.3 kg frozen sliced peaches, thawed and drained; reduce the drained juice as directed. Flavor is milder, so add 1 tsp extra lemon juice.

Sour cream in the crust

Leave it out and use 90–120 ml ice water. The crust is a little firmer and less forgiving to roll.

Nutmeg

A pinch of ground ginger or ½ tsp almond extract both work well with peaches; choose one, not both.

Variations

Peach and raspberry

Fold 150 g raspberries into the filling just before it goes into the crust and add 1 tsp more cornstarch.

Brown butter peach

Brown 30 g butter until nutty and pour it over the filling before covering with the top crust.

Troubleshooting

Peach skins will not slip off

The peaches are underripe or were not blanched long enough. Give them another 20 to 30 seconds in the boiling water, or peel firm fruit with a sharp vegetable peeler.

Slices turned to mush

The peaches were overripe or sliced too thin. Choose fruit that gives slightly at the stem and keep slices at about 1.5 cm.

Top crust domed and separated

Steam had no escape. Cut generous slits, and make sure the filling is level rather than heaped in the middle.

Storage

Keep loosely covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, then refrigerate for up to 3 days. Peach filling softens as it sits, so this pie is best within 2 days. Baked pie can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Raw dough with uncooked flour should not be eaten. Contains wheat, milk and egg.