Peach Pie #36

Throughout this whole experiment, people have been asking me, "What's you're favorite pie?" Usually I say, "Oh, I really liked [insert best pie of the past two or three weeks]."
However, all along, I've been waiting for the opportunity to say, "Peach pie is my favorite."

The first pie I ever made was a peach pie and I've been hooked ever since. I even reached back into the catacombs of my photo collection to find this picture of it:

(Awww...isn't that cute? I made it for Ryan's birthday a several years ago. Also, allow me to say that while it's not a gorgeous lattice crust, it's not awful for my first try, right?)

Any ways, I love peaches and I still love peach pie.

However if you've been following this blog at all, you know well that the worst pies I've made all year are my peach pies.

I've spent a lot of nights wondering, why would the universe do that to me? Well, it's called humility, people. And clearly I needed a big dose of it because my last peach pies were really embarrassing (almost as embarrassing as the pink sweats I'm wearing in that old picture).

However, I'm happy to report that I did it. I made a peach pie that was delicious. And while it didn't blow up my pride to unmeasurable proportions, it did make me feel a little better. While I don't think that these are the end-all tips for making a peach pie, here are a few that I used that I believe helped this pie to succeed:

I used barely ripened peaches (so they wouldn't over cook in the oven).
I used one of the simplest recipes I could find (so you could really taste the peaches)
I didn't second guess the recipe at all (which is hard for me)
And you know what? It worked.

So, just talking about this recipe as it is, it was really good. It let the peaches speak for themselves. There isn't anything else to spice them up, accompany them, or change their flavor, which, in my book, made them just peachy.

Also, I loved the crust. It should be made again and again.

And as for peach pies? They still hold a place high on the pedestal of pleasant pies.

(How many more months until peach season comes again?)

Peach Pie
(from joyofbaking.com)

Pate Brisee (Short Crust Pastry):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon granulated white sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Peach Filling:

6 cups (2 1/2 pounds) fresh peaches

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Garnish:

1 tablespoon cream or milk

Granulated white sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Pate Brisee:  In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined.  Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour. 

Peach Filling:  Meanwhile, dip the peaches into a large pot of boiling water for about 30 - 60 seconds, depending on the ripeness of each peach. Transfer the fruit to a large bowl of ice water (this stops the cooking process). The skins should now slip easily off the peaches. Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones, and cut the fruit into slices. Place the peach slices in a large bowl and toss with the sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, salt, and butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand, at room temperature, for about 30 minutes so the peaches have time to release their juices, the sugar can dissolve, and the tapioca becomes nice and plump.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12 inch circle. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards).) Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 9 inch pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and tuck the overhanging pastry under itself, crimping as desired. Refrigerate the pastry, covered with plastic wrap, while you roll out the second round of pastry.

Remove the second round of pastry from the refrigerator and roll it into a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and gently pour the peach filling into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the peaches. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make 3 - 2-inch (5 cm) slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Lightly brush the top crust with cream and sprinkle with a little granulated white sugar.

Bake the pie for about 45 - 60 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown color and the juices are bubbling and thick. If the edges of the pie are browning too much during baking, cover with a foil ring. 

Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool for an hour. Serve at room temperature with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Leftovers can be stored for a couple of days at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Peach #34

Thoughts I have while baking pies:

While I'm putting the pie together:
Really? That much flour? I don't know...hmmm...I think it should be a little more/less.
Ugh, should I follow the recipe as written? Should I put in just a little bit more...?

While the pie is cooking:
Did I put enough flour in? Oh dear, should I have used tapioca flakes? Cornstarch? Ugh, I hate cornstarch, but um maybe I should have used cornstarch...hmmm....

While checking the pie at the end:
Is it bubbling? I wouldn't really call that "thickly bubbling" like the recipe says...but it is bubbling?...hmmm...ten more minutes? ...okay...ten more minutes...

Ten minutes later:
Okay, I see some "thick" bubbles, but why isn't the middle bubbling? hmmm...ten more minutes again???? 

(And on and on and on until I feel like the pie is adequately bubbling and/or the crust won't hold out any longer.)

So I don't want to make a list of the many things I spend time worrying about, but clearly, (from this long train-of-thought account) I'm a big-time worrier about soupy pies. It's probably number two on my list of pie crimes (bad taste being the number one). 

Don't be confused, making pies is not a frustrating activity. I love making crusts, I love cutting fruit,  I love cooking pie, I love the lingering aroma of pie in our apartment, I love sharing pies with people, I love how many people I've met in the last 9 months who LOVE pie and become an insta-friend because of it. I love everything to do with pie...but I admit, there is this looming desperation crowding my thoughts until we reach the crowning moment in any pie's life: when it's finally cut into; the crust breaks; and, hopefully, find out that the filling isn't runny. It's in that moment that all the worrying and work was worth it and, only then, can I let out a sigh of relief.

However, this pie did not result in any such sigh of relief.

It was a mess.

I think I spent too many "ten minutes" worrying about how it hadn't bubbled in the middle, thus cooking it too long (I think a first for me) and making canned peaches in a crust. This--you can imagine--makes it one of the worst pies of the year. 

(Sorry, my dear old roommate and husband who had to suffer through that one.)

It was a bomb and a disgrace to the beautiful peaches that I'd picked from the Farmers Market.

I still have faith that this is a good recipe, though I did not do it justice. So, please, if you do try it, I'd love to hear how it goes for you.
Vanilla Peach Pie
(adapted from Bubby's Pie Book)
Ingredients:
All-butter crust recipe (see here)Filling:
1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 pounds peaches, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 lemon, zested and juiced
pinch salt
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom
Tiny pinch ground cloves
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
sugar, for sprinkling on the top crust

DIRECTIONS:
Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Rechill the pastry if necessary.

To remove the skin of the peach, first make an 'X' in the base of the peach with a sharp knife so you have a place to start peeling. Gently drop the peach into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove from water and plunge the peach into ice water. Once cooled for a minute or two, the skin should easily peel away from the flesh. Slice peaches into 1/2-inch spears and cover with lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 450F

Scrape the fine black seeds from the center of each vanilla bean half by running a knife blade along the cut face of the pod on a cutting board. Be thorough and get all the gummy inside of the vanilla bean on the knife. In a large bowl, combine the vanilla seeds with the peaches, sugar, flour, lemon zest, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Mix the fruit filling lightly, as little as possible, to just get the ingredients dispersed. Scrape the filling into the bottom crust, dot the top of the fruit with the butter, and cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Cut vent slits in the top crust and sprinkle it lightly with sugar.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blond. Turn the oven down to 375F, and bake 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side to enhance the flavor. Store the pie uncovered at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Peach Blueberry Pie #32

I'm not sure what happened to this pie. I tried, people. I tried. But clearly I didn't try hard enough.

I've been looking forward to this pie since I started this experiment and it really didn't work out. It was one of the soupiest pies that we've had. The day we made this pie (and I mean "we" because I enlisted Ryan's help and we also had an audience--consisting of several of my nieces and nephews--who was watching our every move and sneaking pie dough when our backs were turned), we also made at least 4 other pies.

There was a small army of family flocking to my parent's house for dessert that night and we wanted to provide.

Luckily all the pies worked out well. This one, however, was not worth the sweet Utah peaches that we put into it. The taste wasn't awful, but no one (besides me, of course) even wanted to try it because it looked like a peach soup with pie crust croutons.

Not exactly how I wanted to show off for my family 2,000 miles away.

But then again, I'm happy for the learning experience.

Any way, I'm guessing that somehow we overlooked the thickener, or the recipe didn't call for enough, or maybe we cooked the peaches too long? I don't know. I'm still working on a solution and luckily peaches are still in season, so this is not the last time I'll visit this subject.

However, if you try this recipe, know that the crust is awesome and the taste is great too--just make sure you put that cornstarch in (and maybe a spoonful of flour as well...just for good measure).

Peach Blueberry Pie
(Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence)

Pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rollingFilling:
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zested and finely grated
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed


2 pounds peaches, pitted and sliced
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
1 egg, beaten with a drizzle of water

DIRECTIONS:
For pastry--Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and ice water and work that in with your hands. (Or do the whole thing in a food processor, pulsing a couple of times to combine the dry ingredients, then pulsing in the butter, and then the egg.)

Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a small amount together between thumb and forefingers: You want there to be just enough moisture to bind the dough so that it holds together without being too wet or sticky. If it's still crumbly, add a little more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. When you get it to the right consistency, shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Put it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven.

Divide the dough in half and set one half aside; cover it with a towel or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 10-inch round. Loosely drape the dough round over the rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Press the dough over the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the edges to about 1/2-inch.

Toss the fruit with the sugar, lemon, and cornstarch. Pile the fruit into the pie shell and dot with the butter. Roll out the reserved dough to a 9 to 10-inch round and lay it over the fruit. Trim, and crimp the edges. Cut 2 or 3 (2-inch) vents in the top of the pie and brush with the egg glaze. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling up through the vents, 50 to 60 minutes. Cover the edges with aluminum foil if they brown too fast. Cool on a rack before serving.