Classic Peach

Those of you who know me know that I loathe summer. Oh how I detest the long, muggy days and blinding sunlight; how I dream of cooler climates (I even stop Blaming Canada and fantasize about retreating up there). Many times I have said that the only good thing about summer in St. Louis is the peaches. Save the rare cool day that gives you a whiff of fall and reminds you that there is an end in sight, peaches are the best thing about the long, hot Midwestern summer.  

So last week I got half a peck of peaches at the farmers' market. That is entirely too many peaches for one person, so I had to make two different kinds of peach treats in one week. This is the first - classic peach pie.

You will notice in the picture below that there are few ingredients in my peach pie - just white sugar, salt, tapioca (or cornstarch or flour), butter and a touch of lemon juice. The flavor of the peaches is so bright, so delicious that it should not be muddied by any spices. In fact, I wouldn't even use brown sugar in this pie. Cinnamon and nutmeg certainly have no business being in a peach pie. Not even a hint of either is appropriate, despite what the smittenkitchen writer says. Not only do they not enhance the peach flavor, but they are classic fall spices that are out of place in a summer pie. (Don't get me wrong, cinnamon has its place. I tried an apple pie in Scotland that contained no spices, and it screamed for a dash of cinnamon). 

Anyway, I turned on Matthew Sweet's 'Girlfriend' and got to work. By the way, thanks, Ryan, for recommending a bittersweet album. You really know what's right for someone feeling a bit down. Jerk.

Not pictured: one small lemon

 First, I peeled 12 small peaches (equivalent to 9-10 large peaches) in the manner seen here.

Then I mixed the peaches with 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons tapioca, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. In this instance, I used tapioca, which I have not used much in the past, having instead opted for cornstarch. While I disagree with the smittenkitchen writer about cinnamon, she is correct about tapioca. She suggests you grind it in a coffee grinder before adding it to the filling. This will allow for a somewhat runnier filling than if you leave the beads intact. I agree that the filling in this pie was too gelatinous; peach pie should have a slightly runnier quality because peaches are so delightfully juicy. I want my classic pies like this one to seem as if they could have been made by my great-great-grandmother. They do not have to form perfect slices. So I recommend cornstarch in lieu of tapioca or, as I said, grinding the tapioca.

Besides, the tapioca beads don't exactly look appetizing, especially if I'm going for blog-worthy pictures.

Next I rolled out my pie crust.

Once the filling had been sitting for 15 minutes, I poured it (along with all the juice) in the dough-lined pie dish and dotted it with 2 tablespoons of butter.

 Then I made a lattice crust, brushed it with egg whites, and sprinkled it with a few teaspoons of sugar.

I always cover the edges of a pie with this type of crust because it tends to burn

I baked it at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, reduced the heat to 350 and baked for an additional 30 minutes.

So the crust developed a delightful crunch on top, and the filling was nice 'n bubbly.

See how this is not runny at all?

Notice the gelatinous quality of the filling.

Peach Pie

The day before, make the crust seen here.

Filling:

9-10 or about 2 lbs of peaches
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons minute tapioca, cornstarch or flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the peaches and slice them into 1/2-inch thick slices. Mix in sugar, tapioca or cornstarch, salt, and lemon juice. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile roll out pie dough. Line the bottom of the pie dish with the dough and pour in the peach filling. Dot with 2 tablespoons of butter. Roll out the remaining dough and cover the pie with either a pricked top or lattice crust.

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes (this will bake the crust; it should be lightly brown after 30 minutes). Reduce temperature to 350 (to finish cooking the filling) and continue baking 30-45 minutes or until filling is bubbly.

Set aside for at least three hours or overnight before serving.

Share and enjoy!

Tried-and-true Pie Crust

This post is for you, Kelsey. The recipe is simple and always garners compliments. Consequently, I haven't tried many variations on it. Why mess with vinegar or cold butter when I know this one's a winner?

There are very few ingredients: 1 cup vegetable shortening, 2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 egg, and a touch of water.  (I noticed the store now carries butter-flavored vegetable shortening. I'm tempted to try it, but I loathe any artificial flavoring. Has anyone tried it before?).  

Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of flour.

And add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder. The baking powder gives the crust a flakier quality and makes the dough a little more forgiving of being overworked.

Stir the flour mixture with a fork, then drop in the shortening.

Now comes the fun part! Set aside your pastry blender and mix the shortening and flour with your hands. By rubbing the mixture between your thumb and fingers, it will start to develop a cornmeal-like texture.

The mixture doesn't have to be perfectly uniform as long as the shortening is broken into small pieces.

Next, break an egg into a measuring cup and add cold water until it reaches 1/2 a cup.

And beat the egg mixture with a fork.

Then pour it over the flour mixture.

And mix it gently with your hands until all of the flour is wet and it forms into a ball. It's important not to overmix the dough here. You want the small beads of shortening to remain intact because they create the flaky layers when you roll it out.

Then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. It really needs to be refrigerated overnight. Despite what cookbooks say, three hours is not enough.

Pie Crust

This is my mom's recipe. The recipe says it makes three single crusts, but I think it's more like two and a half or enough for one deep-dish pie.

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup shortening
1 egg

Add salt and baking powder to flour, mix
Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles cornmeal or a coarse meal, set aside
Break egg into measure cup
Add cold water until it reaches 1/2 a cup, mix
Add egg/water mixture to flour mixture and mix gently until it all holds together
Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight

When you roll it out, use lots of flour on the rolling pin and surface.