Peach Pie with Lattice Crust

Peach pie with a lattice crust is my all-time favorite pie. So when asked to bring a dessert to a friend's dinner party, I knew right away what that dessert was going to be. I mean this is August, right? 

I found the most wonderful peaches at a chain supermarket of all places. The young man working in the produce department was arranging the "large yellow peaches" display when I walked in. I asked a question and he was off and running. Said these were really good peaches, he'd been buying them for his mother every week. 

Hmm. I had my doubts and was prepared to go to two more distant stores to get the best yellow peaches. But I smiled and picked one up, noting that it did not have green shoulders around the stem end (green shoulders are not a good sign), so I gave it a sniff and could actually smell it. There are one or two varieties that don't give off their aroma like that, but most varieties do when they are really good. So I took home four pounds of them and set them on the kitchen counter to further develop for three days till the day of the dinner party.

Generally speaking, if you pick up a peach that has green shoulders (which means it was picked too soon) and no fragrance, you might as well just buy a bag of fuzzy balls of styrofoam as those peaches. And I always look for the ones with a deep red flush. It doesn't make them taste better, but I don't peel the peaches and that crimson blush looks so pretty in the pie. 

You don't have to do the lattice for the top crust, but it's sort of traditional with peach pie. If you haven't done a lattice crust, try it; it's really easy and I've put the directions in the recipe below. I used to always use five strips of dough in both directions, but I decided to do this one with four wider ones. Kinda like it! What is your favorite summer pie? 

PS The pie was a huge hit at the dinner party. Turns out peach pie was the hosts' favorite pie!

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Peach Pie

(Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 servings)

Pastry for double-crust pie (Click and scroll for the pastry and another wonderful fruit pie!)

2 1/2 pounds (about 5 large/40 ounces/1.13 kg) perfectly ripe yellow peaches

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup (3.5 ounces/99 grams) sugar
1/4 dip-and-sweep cup (1 ounce/29 grams) tapioca flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (No, that's not a typo!)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (I want you to taste the peaches!)

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

1 Preheat oven to 425F/220C/Gas7. On lightly floured square of parchment paper, roll out one disk of dough to a 13x11-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. (Save the plastic it was wrapped in; you'll be using it again.) At this point, it's best to chill the dough for a few minutes in the freezer or several minutes in the refrigerator. Then, with a straight edge* and a knife or pizza wheel, and the long side of the dough facing you, cut the dough into 8 even strips about 1 1/2 inches wide. Transfer, on the parchment, to a rimless baking sheet, cover with the reserved plastic wrap or parchment, and refrigerate while proceeding.  

* There are so many uses for a sturdy straight edge in the kitchen. Years ago, pre-Amazon, a friend and I were taking cake decorating classes and needed an 18-inch ruler for leveling the icing. Went to the hardware store and all they had was yardsticks, so I bought one and had Mr Delightful cut it in half (and smooth out the cut edges) for us. I use it all the time! Fortunately, Amazon has this 18-inch aluminum ruler.

2 On a lightly floured surface, roll out second disk of dough to a 13-inch circle. Line the 9-inch glass pie plate with pastry, fitting it down into the plate without stretching it, and trimming the overhang to about 3/4 inch. Cover and refrigerate while preparing filling.

3 Peel peaches (or not)* and cut into 1-inch chunks into a large bowl (I use a 2-quart glass measure). You'll have about 6 cups of peaches. (I cut them like this: Quarter peach, cut each quarter into 2 to 4 wedges, depending on the size of the peaches, and cut wedges in half.) In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, tapioca flour (vastly superior to cornstarch or any other thickener for fruit pies), salt and spices; add to peaches and mix gently but well. Pour into pie shell. Cut the tablespoon of butter into little dice and spread them over the surface of the peaches.

* I implore you, please try NOT peeling. You'll never go back! Just do a thorough job of washing the peaches and getting all the excess fuzz off as you dry them.

4 Lay 2 strips of dough across the pie in one direction, centered, about 1/2 inch apart. Then lay the 2 outer strips about 1/2 inch from the center strips. Fold back every other strip halfway and, again, place a long strip of dough 1/4 inch from the center going the other way. Unfold the folded strips over the crossing strip. Place the second center strip in the same way. Repeat with the 2 outer strips. Press the overhanging strips against the bottom crust, then trim them even with the bottom crust and crimp the edge.

Note: If your kitchen is warm and your dough is getting warm, you'll get a better crimp if you pop the whole thing in the freezer for a few minutes or in the refrigerator for several minutes.

5 Place the pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips (There will be drips!), and place it in the preheated oven. Bake at 425F/220C/Gas 7 for 25 minutes. Lower temperature to 350F/180C/Gas 4, and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes (juices should be bubbling). Cool on wire rack for a minimum of 4 hours before serving. Use a pie crust shield to prevent overbrowning the edge. I put it on when it's time to lower the temperature.

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Jean

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