Thursday, July 15, 2010

Peach Pie


There are few things as wonderful as a perfectly ripe peach - and few things as difficult to find. Even here in North Carolina, in such close proximity to Peach Country. Thankfully, over 4th of July weekend, I lucked out with a couple pounds of beautiful, sweet, smooth organic South Carolina peaches. My family requested a pie for our festivities, and, peaches in hand, I was happy to oblige.


This pie was unbelievable. Relying almost entirely on the peaches themselves for sweetness, the fruit nestled between two layers of buttery, flaky, perfect pie crust, served with orange blossom-scented whipped cream. Oh, my. It disappeared in a matter of minutes.




Peach Pie

For the filling
2 pounds of ripe peaches, pitted and cut into chunks about 1/2" x 1" (I left my skins on to create a textural difference in the filling, but peel them if you prefer)
1 tablespoon agave nectar (Madhava brand is best, it's the real deal.)
2 teaspoons tapioca powder or cornstarch

For the crust
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups white spelt flour
heaping 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and frozen
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup ice water

Filling
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Crust
Combine flours and salt in a large bowl. Add butter chunks and cut in with a pastry blender. You aren't aiming for a meal-like consistency here, you want butter pieces of various sizes - though none terribly large. Add the water a little at a time, working it in with your hands until the dough comes together. Work quickly, as you don't want the butter to warm too much. Turn dough out onto a board, divide into two, form each half into a ball, flatten into a disk and wrap well in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling.

When ready to assemble the pie:

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9" pie pan. Pull out one disk of dough at a time, and roll out on a well-floured board to about 1/8" thick. Line pie plate with first circle of dough, and trim overhang to about 1/8" - 1/4". Fill with peach mixture. Lay second circle of dough over filling, trim overhang to about 1/4 inch beyond bottom crust. Pinch edges of crust together, tuck top around bottom, and flute crust to make an attractive edge. Cut slits in top crust. If the dough seems to have softened a lot while you were working with it, pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking.

Bake for about 60-70 minutes, or until crust is evenly browned and fruit juices are thick and bubbling. Cool on a rack until warm.


12 comments:

  1. Beautiful pie! Peach is the best too!

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  2. Absolutely beautiful pie. Gotta find me some good, sweet peaches.

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  3. Wow that is a beautiful pie and I like the last photo. Nice job on the crust. wonderful thing about summer and its fruits.
    AmyRuth

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  4. I just found your site. Your food sounds amazing and your photography is gorgeous, and I just realised that I've bookmarked about 15 of your different posts to try later! Especially the basil ice cream, and the rhubarb curd bars. *sigh*

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  5. Sadly, my exposure to peach pie has been limited to store-bought syrupy gunk. From the sound of yours, a good peach pie may change my life for the better :).

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  6. No wonder it disappeared so quickly, wonderful

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  7. This pie looks unbelievably delicious Sarah.

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  8. Wow. That is gorgeous! Now I need to go buy some peaches. =)

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  9. Wow, this is gorgeous and it looks DELICIOUS!!!

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  10. Beautiful pie! Peach pie sounds so good right now... I can't wait until they're ready around here!

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