279612 Sun Sep 04 18:45:58 -0700 2005 12 31 Home Cooking 0 1483100 I made my fourth peach pie yesterday, and am proud to say that I finally nailed it. The recipe is below. I am not claiming it is definitive or the best ever or anything (am neither Christopher Kimball nor Rose Levy Beranbaum), everyone has a different palate & texture preferences, but this came very close to being my platonic ideal of a peach pie. The recipe is based on one in Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything", with modifications by Rose Levy Rosenbaum and Chowhound. I wanted to share it especially with people who are intimidated by the prospect of baking pie, hence all the detailed explanations. ______________________________________________________ 9"-10" DOUBLE-CRUST PEACH PIE (obsessive-compulsive recipe with way too many side notes) CRUST 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 sticks COLD unsalted butter (Plugrá produced a markedly better, flakier and tastier crust than regular butters) 1 teaspoon salt (have ready) 1/3 cup ice water (you'll probably need less) 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg yolk In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter cut into small pieces and crumble with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the yolk and (gradually) about 3 tablespoons ice water. Mix in and add more water if needed; make dough - its should be neither dry/crumbly, nor sticky. Divide dough into two unequal parts. If you have a deep pie dish, as I do, you'll need quite a bit more dough to cover the bottom and sides than to cover the fruit on top; also, you'll want a thicker bottom crust to hold all the juices & not get soggy; for a deep pie dish, the ratio should be nearly 2:1 parts, for a shallower one, 3:2 parts. Flatten dough into into disks. There are different schools of thought on how to proceed, most authors recommending chilling both disks, then rolling them out. I prefer to simply press the bottom half evenly into the pie dish (no rolling), making sure the edges are nice and thick; this takes a few minutes but it's quite easy - you're working with a pretty thick layer here - not to mention fun. Prick the bottom with a fork all over. Wrap the top crust disk in Saran wrap and refrigerate both. As the dough chills, make filling. FILLING 2 lbs freestone yellow peaches NOTE on peaches: No matter what all the authors say, RIPE peaches produce a runny pie with a slightly mushy filling. I have had best results (peaches retaining their shape yet getting soft) with nicely colored Georgia peaches that were almost hard, barely yielding to finger pressure. Out of hand they were sweet but slightly crunchy. Taste the peaches before you make this, both to gauge their sweetness and texture; inferior peaches will make a dull pie. (Some California peaches that looked amazing were mealy and tasteless, as well as mushy; I'm sure not all are, but at least in NYC stores they are often awful, as I found out. I've had great results with Georgia peaches, even better than with NJ ones. Of course, good fresh local peaches are always best.) 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice scant 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet the peaches are) 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp almond extract 1/8 tsp nutmeg (I normally hate nutmeg but it was perfect in the pie - undetectable as a separate flavor but really underscored the peachiness) 2 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca 2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits milk as needed (small amount), plus extra sugar for sprinkling crust Unless your peaches are HAIRY, I suggest you skip the peeling process. The skins have a nice flavor, are soft when cooked & easy to digest, and give the juices a beautiful pink cast. Pit the peaches and cut into segments, thickest part around 1/2 inch. Stir together the sugar, salt, and nutmeg and toss with the peaches along with the lemon juice. Let stand for up to 30 minutes in a deep bowl, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, transfer into a colander and strain for another 15-30 minutes, collecting the juices in a pan. Transfer the peaches back into a bowl and toss with the 2 tablespoons cornstarch/tapioca and almond extract. Arrange peaches in the pie shell (I like to pack as many as I can, but don't make too big of a heap in the center or the juices will drown the pie), return to the refrigerator. Reduce the juices in the pan until thick like honey and a pinkish caramel color. Cool for a minute or two, then drizzle over the peaches. Don't worry if the juices harden, they'll melt as the pie bakes. Dot the peaches with bits of butter. On a floured surface, roll out the dough disk into a circle somewhat larger than the pie diameter (if the dough becomes too sticky, add a bit of flour), then drape over pie, making sure to tuck edges under; shape edges decoratively if you're so inclined, but make sure they remain thick. I find it easiest to roll the dough out on my Silpat, then carefully inverting it over the pie and peeling the Silpat off. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar; cut six 2" vents in a star pattern (... or whatever...) into the top. Return to refrigerator. Preheat oven to 450; place a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet with raised edges on the middle rack to catch any juices. Make a shield for the pie edges out of aluminum foil; basically take a pretty long strip and fold it lenthwise until it's about 4" wide; connect the edges to form a circle a bit larger than the pie dish, then pinch the top in several places to form a removable shield that will protect the edges from browning too much. OK, this may seem obsessive, but it really is nice not to have those darn burnt edges. To me it's worth the effort. When the oven is ready, remove pie from fridge and place it on the cookie sheet/jelly roll pan; put on the pie shield. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 350 and bake for another 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden with light brown spots. You can remove the foil shield for the last 10 minutes or so. * * * Sun Sep 04 18:45:58 -0700 2005 0 Sir Gawain 1 1483104 Oh, my kingdom for a photo! This sounds delightful; thank you for the detailed post descriptions. I heartily second your use of Plugra. The lower water content makes it better for everything. I left a block in a plastic container overnight to come up to room temperature, and when I opened it the smell of butter wafted throughout the kitchen. Even before I started cooking, my boyfriend was sniffing the air and asking "Wow, are you baking?" Sun Sep 04 19:20:21 -0700 2005 1483100 0 nooodles 2 1483105 I felt it would have been somewhat exhibitionistic to post a photo, so I never took one... but it did look damn good, if I say so myself... Alas, it's all gone now. Next time I'll overcome my scruples and take a picture; I think I'll make a couple more of these pies before the season ends. Sun Sep 04 19:31:41 -0700 2005 1483104 0 Sir Gawain 3 1483107 We all need more pictures. Don't hold back. Sun Sep 04 19:45:25 -0700 2005 1483105 0 Candy 1 1483125 Congrats on finding your peach pie. I enjoyed reading all the notes and your post got me thinking about apple pie. Mon Sep 05 04:13:18 -0700 2005 1483100 0 petradish 1 1483138 From one Obsessive-Compulsive to another, thank you for your very detailed recipe! Regarding good peaches, I never seem to find any! Even when I buy them at Farmer's Markets, there is only a 30% chance they will be good. Some rot from the inside out, some get moldy before they even ripen, some are mushy. Is there a surefire way to buy good peaches these days? (I live in SoCal.) Mon Sep 05 14:10:24 -0700 2005 1483100 0 Funwithfood 1 1483146 Thanks so much for taking the time to outline your process so thoroughly; I gleaned a few helpful tips for future pie-baking. I know you've said before that you're not a perfectionist, but this has all the OCD qualities that I can appreciate! Your gently-assured and directive notes read like a Judy Rodgers recipe... PS. A photo may be exhibitionistic, but isn't that partly the point? You proudly display your pie and then we get to drool... Mon Sep 05 16:20:52 -0700 2005 1483100 0 Carb Lover 2 1483151 Thanks from one carb lover to another... will take a photo next time... I always write recipes in such a way that my non-baking friends would understand them clearly and feel compelled to start baking; I'm evangelistic that way. But if I were a true perfectionist, I would have *chilled the pie plate* beforehand! Except my freezer is always full, especially since the ice cream maker bowl has taken up residence there. Have to get that Judy Rodgers cookbook. I've resisted long enough (I already have too many cookbooks) but you people are making me do it. Link: http://www.glarkware.com/securestore/c181846p16446471.2.html Mon Sep 05 17:55:25 -0700 2005 1483146 0 Sir Gawain 3 1483166 Don't resist the genius of Ms. Rodgers...I'm so thankful that her editors didn't force her to reduce her recipes down to 1 or 2 pages to make them look easy a la Food Network. This is not to say that her recipes are complicated or overwrought though. She shares her experienced cooking notes in a way that I believe novice or advanced cooks can appreciate. Check it out first and see what you think... BTW, that t-shirt is most tempting. I'm tempted to buy it so that I can wear it to the SF Chowhound picnic later this month. Mon Sep 05 22:02:52 -0700 2005 1483151 0 Carb Lover 3 1483167 Heh, I bought that t-shirt for my SO, and it became an instant favorite. I want a piece of your peach pie very badly. Mon Sep 05 22:05:03 -0700 2005 1483151 0 Caitlin McGrath 1 1483184 thanks for posting. I'm 1/4 of the way there. Just did my first peach pie last night. Definitely not perfect. Good thing is the mistakes are sure still good eating. I've never done a pie dough with egg. Did you choose this crust because it is richer? What other benefits does an egg-based dough provide? Tue Sep 06 07:45:29 -0700 2005 1483100 0 adamclyde 2 1483198 The egg is there for protein... Nah, just kidding. Yeah, to make it richer, it also binds the pastry nicely. It's omissible, but I always feel that a recipe with egg is better than a recipe without one. Tue Sep 06 11:06:13 -0700 2005 1483184 0 Sir Gawain 1 1483204 My God, this sounds good, and the directions are so detailed it may get me over my pie-phobia. This may be my project for this weekend, while I can still get local peaches here in Boston. Tue Sep 06 12:10:25 -0700 2005 1483100 0 doctor_mama