It’s March the 14th – International Pi-e day 3.14.15 (at least it is in countries that read the date in that format). But hey, I love a food themed day so I’m marking the occasion with the best the last days of a sub-tropical summer have to offer – Peaches, and lots of em!
This delightful recipe is adapted from one of my favourite American cooks – Joy the Baker. When it comes to pie, hers are tried and true and a slice of little ole American heaven.
You may have missed Pi day – but at The Scandinavian Baker HQ every day is pie day, so get baking!
Peach Pie
The Pastry
2 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tablespoons of golden caster sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
225 grams of cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
5 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons ice cold water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (this adds an amazing tang to the pastry)
The Filling
1.5 kg of ripe yellow (kissed-by-the-sun) peaches (6-7 large)
1/2 cup of golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander (what the? – yep, coriander, it’s super tasty)
3 tablespoons of plain flour
1 tablespoons of corn flour
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 egg, beaten and 1 teaspoon of water, for egg wash
2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, combined.
Makes one 23 cm pie
Throw the flour, butter and sugar and salt in to your food processor and blitz to combine. Add the cold butter and blitz again until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Combine the water and vinegar and gradually add until the pastry begins to come together and forms a ball.
Turn the pastry out onto the bench and gently kneed into a ball. It will be quite soft and smooth. Cut in half and shape each half into a flat disk. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for an hour.
Slice those sun-kissed peaches and place into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the lemon juice. Whisk together the sugar, spices and two flours and pour the mixture over the peaches. Gently toss with a wooden spoon to cover. Place bowl of fruit in the fridge to rest while you roll the pastry out. The flour mixture will absorb the peach juices as they bake and transform your pie into one any classic small-town American diner would be proud of.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
On a floured surface roll out the first pastry disk to slightly larger than your pie dish. It may crack a little around the edge; gently persevere until you have your round pastry.
Gently lift the pastry into your pie dish and press into place leaving the overhang – you’ll need this to join the top o the bottom. Pop this one into the fridge to rest.
Repeat this process with the second disk. Once ready, place the fruit filling into the waiting pie dish and gently place the top disk of pastry on top. Using your thumb or a fork, crimp the edges together to form a seal.
Using a sharp knife, make five slits in the top of the pie to allow any steam to escape. Trim the remaining pasty from around the edge.
Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes at 200c and then reduce the oven temp to 185c for 55 more minutes. The pie will be ready when the crust is a dark golden brown
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours before serving with far too much double cream. How delicious is Maths!?
