Perfect Peach Pie

Perfect Peach Pie

Every year I look forward to making this pie. As a kid visiting southern Ontario on vacation with my family during peach season on the Niagara Peninsula, I remember stopping at roadside stands or even better a u-pick orchard, to get beautiful golden ripe peaches. Still warm from the summer sun, the sweet juice would run down your chin and neck as you bit into them. I fell in love with those peaches and every year look forward to peach season and the chance to make this amazing pie.

The pastry for the pie this year is a hybrid of two pastry recipes I often use. I sometimes struggle with the choice between butter pastry and the traditional shortening or lard based pie crusts I made as a kid. The butter pastry has great flavour but I still find I'm partial to  a super flaky shortening crust. In this case I decided to combine the two and I was very pleased with the result; buttery but still very flaky too.

You can adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe depending on the sweetness of the peaches. I don't like the filling in this pie to be overly sweet and overwhelm the natural flavor of the peaches. I hope to enjoy at least one more of these beautiful pies while summer peaches are still at their very best.

Perfect Peach Pie

For the pastry:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ cup very cold butter cut in small cubes
• ½ cup very cold vegetable shortening cut in small cubes
• 1/3 cup ice water
• 2 tbsp white vinegar

Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter and shortening into flour, brown sugar and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter and shortening should still be visible. Pour vinegar into cold water then pour over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.

Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a deep 10 inch pie plate. Push the dough into the corners and ensure that it is not stretched at all or it will shrink from the edge. Trim dough to edge of plate.

Roll the remaining dough round into 12 inch square-ish shape and cut that into 8 equal strips for the lattice crust top.

For the filling combine:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 rounded tbsp corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• Toss this dry mixture with
• 8-10 cups fresh peaches, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Juice of half a lemon

Toss all together until well combined and pour into prepared pie plate.

Place the remaining pastry strips on top of the peach mixture, interweaving them to form a simple lattice pattern. Tuck the ends of the strips under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp with a fork or your fingers to seal the pastry together.

Chill the pie in the fridge for about 20 minutes to a half hour before placing it on a cookie sheet (to catch any drips from the filling) in a preheated 400 degree F oven. Bake for 45 minutes at that temperature before covering the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. 

Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 30- 45 minutes or until the filling bubbles at the center. Allow to cool on a wire rack at room temperature for at least a couple of hours before serving.

NOTE: If your lattice crust begins to get too brown after you have covered the edges with aluminum foil but before the filling is bubbling, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top during the last of the baking time if needed.