Peach pie.

Summer is over. I think we had about two weeks of it here in London. On one of those rare summery days, I wandered past a fruit stand that was absolutely overflowing with peaches.

So I decided to make a pie.

Peach pie

(recipe c/o smitten kitchen)

Ingredients: 
Crust

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp granulated
1 tsp salt
1 cup (225 grams) unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup cold water

Filling

6 large peaches
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar (or up to 1/3 cup, if you prefer sweeter pies)

1/4 cup brown sugar (same as above)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp sugar

 

Directions:

Dough

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Work cold butter into mixture (using your hands is the easiest way). You'll want small pieces of butter -- I'd suggest freezing it and then using a cheese grater. It'll give you a flakier crust.  

Stir in the ice water and mix until the dough begins to pull together. Knead a couple times and form into a ball. Divide the dough in half and flatten into two discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour (but you can leave it in there up to two days, or freeze for up to 2 months). 

Filling

You'll need to peel the peaches. But before you grab that paring knife, check this out! Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and also prepare an ice bath. Then, using a sharp knife, make a small X on the bottom of each peach. Place peaches into boiling water, and poach for 2 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and put immediately into ice bath to cool for one minute. When you take them out of the ice water, the skin should slip right off. It's amazing, I tell you.

Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Then slice into 1/3 inch slices and measure out about 6 cups. Feel free to snack on the leftovers as you bake. 

In a large bowl, toss peach slices with lemon juice. Combine sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to bowl of peaches and toss to coat.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C). 

Generously flour your work surface. Put one disc of pie dough in the middle and flour it too. Roll your dough out from the center. Go slowly, or it will crack. Every few rolls, lift dough up and rotate a little. Repeat until you've got a 12-13 inch circle. Add more flour as needed (you shouldn't have any dough sticking to the counter or your rolling pin, and if it gets too soft, pop it back in the freezer for a minute before resuming the rolling). 

Transfer your dough by folding into quarters (without creasing!). Place the folded quarter in your pie dish and gently unfold it out over the base. Trim away excess dough (you need about an inch overhang). 

Spoon filling pie-lined dish, making sure to get all the juices. 

Roll out the other disc of dough. For a lattice top, cut into 1/2 - 1 inch strips. Place strips across pie filling in one direction. Fold back every other strip and add a strip going in the other direction. Fold strips back down across the filling. Then fold the others back and place another strip across them. Repeat until you've got a full lattice top. Trim the strips till they're even with the dish (no overhang). Fold the overhang of the bottom crust up over the lattice strips and crimp. 

Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle generously with sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes until crust is beginning to brown. Then reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 C) and bake for another 30 - 40 minutes. If the crust browns too quickly, cover it with foil until the pie is completely done baking. 

Cool for three hours. Yes, this is a long time. But it's mandatory, if you don't want your pie filling to flood out of the crust when you cut into it. It must be fully cool before it's fully thickened. 

Then top with ice cream, and serve!