I am trying to take advantage of all the beautiful summer fruits that are available this time of year and peaches are a big seasonal favorite. My dad picked up some fantastic fresh peaches at the farmer's market so I decided to try my hand at a Lattice Peach Pie.
For me, a pie is only as good as it's crust and since i've already found the perfect pie crust recipe and used it a few times I felt ready to try a lattice top. A lattice top is strips of pie dough woven across the top of the pie. The lattice makes a beautiful decoration but it also serves a purpose of allowing the juices in the fruit to evaporate so the end pie is not too soupy or mushy.
This simple pie recipe really lets the true flavor of the perfectly ripe peaches come thru, the only thing needed is a big scoop of french vanilla ice cream. Here is how you can make your own.
You can find the entire recipe here. I used my favorite pie crust recipe that you can find here. You will also need a 9" pie plate. I like to use a pyrex dish because it's easier to tell how the bottom is browning.
Crust: After you've made your double pie crust, divide it into two pieces, one piece a little larger than the other. The larger piece will be used for the lattice top, the smaller for the bottom of the pie. Let your dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes as this makes the dough a little easier to roll out. Start with the smaller piece of dough and roll out into an approximately 12" circle. Transfer the circle to the pie plate, ease the dough into the bottom and press up the sides of the plate. Place dough lined plate in the fridge. Remover larger piece of dough and roll out into an approximately 12" circle. The recipe says to roll into a rectangle but I found that the circle gave me the perfect amount of strips to cover my pie. Using a fluted pastry wheel or knife, cut out strips anywhere from 3/4" to 1 1/4" depending on how large you want your lattice pieces to be. I made my strips 3/4" wide. I found this super helpful lattice crust video that shows exactly how to cut and weave a lattice crust, I HIGHLY recommend checking this out before attempting to make the lattice top. Once you've cut all your lattice strips, transfer them to a baking pan and place in the fridge to chill.
Filling: The filling calls for either potato starch or pulverized Minute Tapioca for a thickening agent in the filling. After researching which was better I decided to use the tapioca which supposedly works best with fruits like peaches. My dad figured out that the blender works best to pulverize the tapioca (the food processor just didn't do the job!). If using tapioca, pulverize on highest setting in a blender to make as fine as possible. In a large bowl, mix together the 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pulverized Minute Tapioca (I used 4 Tablespoons). Set aside. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and fill another large bowl with ice water and ice. Mark a small X in the bottom of each of your peaches.
Carefully place the peaches into the boiling water for approximately 2-3 minutes or until the skins look like they are loosening up a bit. Transfer peaches to ice water bath and let cool for around a minute. Remove from ice water bath and let cool for 5 minutes or so before peeling. Peel all the peaches and cut out approximately 3/8" slices. I couldn't pit my peaches so I just cut out the pieces around the pit. Place all cut peaches into bowl with sugar mixture and mix to coat.
Assembly: Place a rimmed baking sheet into the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. I have found that the baking sheet that has been preheated in the oven really helps to create a crisp, well baked bottom crust. When the oven is ready, remove bottom pie crust from the fridge. I mixed around 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon of sugar and spread this around the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. I saw on the video that this helps soak up some of the fruit juices so that the bottom doesn't get soggy. Place the filling into the pie crust. My filling had a LOT of juice so I decide to use a slotted spoon to place the peaches into the pie crust because I didn't want an overly soggy pie and it worked out great!
After filling the pie remove the lattice strips from the fridge and and form the lattice top as describe in the video. Once the top is finished and the sides trimmed and sealed, brush the top with a little water or milk or egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Place the pie on the baking sheet that is in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. I place a silicone crust shield over the edges of my pie before baking to keep the edges from getting burned. After 25 minutes, rotate the pie and lower the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes.
The top should be golden brown and filling should be bubbly. Cool pie on a wire rack for 2-3 hours before serving so that the filling can set up a bit and not run out all over the plate. Top with french vanilla ice cream and serve!
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