Peach Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch Pyrex pie pan
- Pizza stone (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Pie Crust for Two-Crust Pie
- 6-8 medium ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 12ths (approx. 6 cups or 2+ pounds)
- ½ lemon, zested and juiced
- ½ cup + 1 tbps granulated sugar (4 ounces)
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
Prepare bottom crust
- Mix together egg white and ½ tsp water.
- On pastry cloth, roll larger piece of dough until approx. 12 inches in diameter.
- Place rolled dough in pie pan.
- Brush dough in pan with egg white and water mixture.
- Place dough in refrigerator.
Prepare filling
- In large mixing bowl, combine sliced peaches, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt.
- Transfer peaches and juices to colander placed in a large bowl to capture juices.
- Once the mixture has stopped releasing juices, approx. 10 minutes, there should be up to 1 cup of juice.
- Place juice in small saucepan.
- Boil juice over medium-high heat until liquid is syrupy and lightly carmelized. About ⅓ of the original amount should remain.
- Meanwhile, transfer peaches to mixing bowl, add cornstarch and almond extract, and stir until all traces of cornstarch have disappeared.
- Pour syrup over peaches and combine gently. If any liquid hardens, it will dissolve during baking.
Prepare top crust
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- If using pizza stone, place in oven on middle or lower rack.
- On pastry cloth, roll out remaining piece of crust to a circle approx. 12 inches in diameter.
Fill pie and put on top crust
- Fill bottom crust with peach mixture.
- Place top crust on pie.
- Using scissors, trim pie dough, so there is ½ to ¾ inches extend past the edge of the pie pan.
- Fold the crust under, so that the folded-together crusts extend only to the edge of the pie pan.
- Press the flat of your thumb down on the crust, above the edge of the pie pan, leaving a depression from your thumb.
- Continue pressing in your thumb around the entire perimeter of pie, leaving a gap between thumb prints of approx. 1/4 inch.
Apply wash
- Mix together egg yolk and cream, ½ & ½, or milk.
- Brush mixture over top crust.
Bake pie
- Place pie on 12-inch pizza pan or similar, to catch drips.
- Place pie and pan in oven, on pizza stone.
- After approx. ½ hour, cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent crust from burning.
- Bake for approx. 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, until juices inside are thick.
- Cool on rack at least 3 hours before cutting.
Notes
Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Pie & Pastry Bible.