One of the things I most look forward to in summer is all the fresh produce. I especially love all the seasonal fruits and berries because they make grand pies and pastry making is one of my favorite baking activities. In August, we eagerly await the wonderful peaches that come from the Niagara region – the baskets of large yellow/orange plump, juicy peaches. One of the first things I make with the fresh peaches is a Classic Peach Pie.
Today, my feature recipe is the classic fresh peach pie, simply sublime when served with a scoop of fine vanilla ice cream. This is a perfect end to a lovely summer dinner. It’s like summer sunshine in a pie!
This recipe calls for about 2 pounds of peaches so, depending on their size, this translates into about 6-7 good-sized peaches. Choose peaches that are ripe, have a slight “give” to them when their flesh is gently pressed, and are free from blemishes, cuts, and bruises. The peaches will be easier to peel if they are placed in hot water for about a minute then immediately dipped into ice cold water to stop them from cooking and to cool them enough to handle as they are peeled.
Peaches are very juicy but all that juice can make for a very “soupy” pie. A soupy pie presents problems cutting and plating it. It’s not very appetizing to see a pie that has broken apart and gone “splat” on a plate! But, there is a remedy to prevent the pie becoming too soupy. I recommend draining the cut peaches in a colander for 10-12 minutes. The ones I drained for this pie released 2/3 cup of peach juice, far too much for a slice of pie to stay intact when cut. The peaches will still release more juice as the pie bakes. What I do is reserve 2½ – 3 tablespoons of the peach juice and put it in to the filling to keep the pie from becoming too dense and dry. I find this is just the right amount to give the consistency and texture of pie I am seeking, still lovely and juicy but not too solid.
The pie is not difficult to make and does not take any uncommon ingredients. I do add a bit of lemon juice (which helps to slow down the peaches from turning brown) and a small amount of almond flavouring along with some cinnamon and nutmeg. The addition of some finely grated orange peel goes well with the peach flavour but does not mask or overtake it – after all, we want the natural peach flavour to be the star in this pie. The peaches are plenty sweet on their own so don’t require much additional sweetener. I do add a small amount of granulated and brown sugar but not a whole lot because the pie would be sickeningly sweet. The addition of a small amount of brown sugar lends some richness to the filling. I do not use all brown sugar in this recipe because it will result in the lovely peach color being diminished. Hence, the reason why I use a combination of both white and brown sugars.
I use cornstarch as the thickener in this pie as I find it results in a more translucent filling than does flour which can become pasty and cause certain pie fillings (especially light-colored ones like peach pie) to have a cloudy appearance. The drained peaches are mixed with the dry ingredients and the reserved peach juice. I recommend letting the mixed filling sit for about 5 minutes to give the sugars time to break down and blend well into the filling. After the filling has set for 5 minutes, gently stir it being careful not to break apart the peach wedges. This will ensure the dry ingredients are well blended and distributed throughout the filling.
For my pastry recipe along with hints and tips on making pie pastry, click here. This pie lends itself well to either a full top crust or a lattice top, whichever you prefer. To make this pie gluten-free, click here for my gluten-free pastry recipe. The photos of the pie in this posting are made with this tender, flaky, and flavorful gluten-free crust.
Make sure the oven rack is placed in the lower third of the oven. This helps the bottom crust to bake better and prevents the top crust from browning too quickly. If, however, the crust starts to brown too fast, simply loosely tent the tin foil over the pie as it continues to bake.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Peach Pie
Ingredients:
Pastry for a two-crust pie to fit 9” pie plate
Approximately 2 pounds fresh peaches (about 6 – 7 large peaches), peeled and sliced into wedges about ½” to ¾” thick [This should equal 4½ – 5 cups sliced ripe peaches]
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
¾ tsp finely grated orange peel
1/8 tsp almond flavouring
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp butter
1½ – 2 tsp cane sugar (optional for decoration)
Method:
Score an “X” about an inch long into the bottom of each peach. Dip peaches in hot water for 1 minute then immediately dip them into a bowl of ice water for 20-30 seconds to shock them and stop them from cooking. Peel peaches.
Place colander over deep bowl. Cut the peaches into halves or quarters. Gently pull the sections apart and remove and discard the stones. Cut the peaches into wedges, lengthwise, between ½” and ¾“ thick and place in colander. Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice and toss very gently to coat with the juice to prevent the peaches from rapidly browning. Let the peaches drip for about 10-12 minutes to remove excess juice that would make the pie “soupy”. Reserve 2½ – 3 tbsp of the peach juice and discard any remaining juice. Transfer the peaches to a large bowl.
In separate bowl, combine the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and grated orange rind. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the peaches and toss very gently to coat the peaches. Add the almond flavoring to the 2½ – 3 tablespoons of reserved peach juice and sprinkle over the peaches. Stir gently to mix ingredients. Let stand for 5 minutes then stir carefully again to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and equally distributed. Be careful not to break apart the peach wedges.
Roll out pastry into a circle approximately 12” – 13” round and about 1/8“ thick. Transfer pastry to a lightly greased 9” pie plate, fitting the dough over the bottom and sides of the plate, ensuring there are no air pockets. Trim pastry flush with edge of pie plate. Roll out top crust to same thickness.
Brush the bottom crust in the pie plate with a light coating of the beaten egg to keep the crust from getting soggy. Reserve the remainder of the egg.
Transfer the peach filling to the prepared pie plate fitted with the pastry dough. Cut the butter into chunks and distribute on top of the filling.
Add ¾ tsp water to remaining beaten egg. Brush the bottom crust edge all around the pie plate lightly with the egg-water mixture. Place top pie crust over peach filling. Trim excess pastry from the pie plate around the pie plate edge. Press the edge of the pastry all around the pie plate rim with tines of a fork to adhere the top crust to bottom crust. Cut a “X” (or 2-3 slits) about 2” long in center of top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes. For additional venting, prick the pie in several places with the tines of the fork. Lightly brush egg wash over top crust of pie. If desired, sprinkle with 1½ – 2 tsp cane sugar.
Place pie in refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow filling to settle and to chill pastry to reduce shrinkage while it bakes.
Place oven rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place chilled pie on tinfoil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips should filling bubble out as pie bakes. Transfer chilled pie to oven. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is baked and golden brown and pie shows signs that filling is bubbling. Check pie after it has been in the oven for about 30-35 minutes – if top crust is browning too quickly, loosely tent pie with tin foil.
Remove pie from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely (minimum of 4 hours for the filling to set) before cutting and serving with a scoop of fine vanilla ice cream.
Yield: 1 – 9” double-crusted pie
Peach Pie
Ingredients
- Pastry for a two-crust pie to fit 9” pie plate
- Approximately 2 pounds fresh peaches about 6 - 7 large peaches, peeled and sliced into wedges about ½” to ¾” thick [This should equal 4½ - 5 cups sliced ripe peaches]
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp finely grated orange peel
- 1/8 tsp almond flavouring
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1½ - 2 tsp cane sugar optional for decoration
Instructions
- Score an “X” about an inch long into the bottom of each peach. Dip peaches in hot water for 1 minute then immediately dip them into a bowl of ice water for 20-30 seconds to shock them and stop them from cooking. Peel peaches.
- Place colander over deep bowl. Cut the peaches into halves or quarters. Gently pull the sections apart and remove and discard the stones. Cut the peaches into wedges, lengthwise, between ½” and ¾“ thick and place in colander. Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice and toss very gently to coat with the juice to prevent the peaches from rapidly browning. Let the peaches drip for about 10-12 minutes to remove excess juice that would make the pie “soupy”. Reserve 2½ - 3 tbsp of the peach juice and discard any remaining juice. Transfer the peaches to a large bowl.
- In separate bowl, combine the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and grated orange rind. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the peaches and toss very gently to coat the peaches. Add the almond flavoring to the 2½ - 3 tablespoons of reserved peach juice and sprinkle over the peaches. Stir gently to mix ingredients. Let stand for 5 minutes then stir carefully again to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and equally distributed. Be careful not to break apart the peach wedges.
- Roll out pastry into a circle approximately 12” - 13” round and about 1/8“ thick. Transfer pastry to a lightly greased 9” pie plate, fitting the dough over the bottom and sides of the plate, ensuring there are no air pockets. Trim pastry flush with edge of pie plate. Roll out top crust to same thickness.
- Brush the bottom crust in the pie plate with a light coating of the beaten egg to keep the crust from getting soggy. Reserve the remainder of the egg.
- Transfer the peach filling to the prepared pie plate fitted with the pastry dough. Cut the butter into chunks and distribute on top of the filling.
- Add ¾ tsp water to remaining beaten egg. Brush the bottom crust edge all around the pie plate lightly with the egg-water mixture. Place top pie crust over peach filling. Trim excess pastry from the pie plate around the pie plate edge. Press the edge of the pastry all around the pie plate rim with tines of a fork to adhere the top crust to bottom crust. Cut a “X” (or 2-3 slits) about 2” long in center of top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes. For additional venting, prick the pie in several places with the tines of the fork. Lightly brush egg wash over top crust of pie. If desired, sprinkle with 1½ - 2 tsp cane sugar.
- Place pie in refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow filling to settle and to chill pastry to reduce shrinkage while it bakes.
- Place oven rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place chilled pie on tinfoil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips should filling bubble out as pie bakes. Transfer chilled pie to oven. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is baked and golden brown and pie shows signs that filling is bubbling. Check pie after it has been in the oven for about 30-35 minutes - if top crust is browning too quickly, loosely tent pie with tin foil.
- Remove pie from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely (minimum of 4 hours for the filling to set) before cutting and serving with a scoop of fine vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Notes
Yield: 1 - 9” double-crusted pie
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
For other great pie recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:
Rustic Apple Pie
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Squash Pie
Glazed Strawberry Pie
Rustic Rhubarb Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Mock Cherry Pie
Gluten-free Apple Pie
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