Enjoy this peach pie homage, Friends!

About this Peach Pie

You need only a few ingredients to pull off this amazing pie, but there is one ingredient that you need much more of anything else to be successful: time. Because while it is true that this pie is made with simple ingredients, and proper technique will make this pie seem simple, if you want to make it look extremely difficult, all you need to do is short yourself on time.

My students are rolling their eyes right now. They hear me say this almost every class. But it is especially true with this one: time is an ingredient.

Because the pie crust comes together in less than five minutes. But then you have to allow it to chill in the fridge for several hours. And the cooking of the peach filling takes only another five minutes, but you have to wash, pit, and slice 6 cups (or, to be more accurate, 942 grams 😊) of peaches (though frozen work just fine too!). And then, once the filling is done cooking, you have to chill it in the refrigerator until it’s completely cooled.

Pie built and ready to bake? NOPE. That built pie needs to sit in the fridge for another 45-60 minutes while your oven preheats. And then, and only then, is it time to bake your pie for the better part of another hour.

So, yes. Think of time as an ingredient and be prepared to set aside the better part of a day to make this one. Call all those friends and family members you’ve been meaning to catch up while doing this bake. Better yet, invite them over to spend some time with you in the kitchen; it’s a perfect time to catch up on old stories and hear new ones. ❤️ And you will be richly rewarded if you just…give this one time.

Ingredients in this Peach Pie

All-Purpose Flour: Okay BBs, here’s the thing. The type of flour that you use for this pie crust depends entirely on your comfort level with making pie. While I recommend all-purpose flour because of the higher protein content (leading to a lessened likelihood that the pie crust will fall apart in your hands when you’re working with it), I actually use White Lily All-Purpose Flour for my pie crust. It leads to positively crust shattering results. White Lily All-Purpose has a lower protein content (9%) than Gold Medal All-Purpose (10.5%), King Arthur All-Purpose (11.7%), and Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose (10-12%) flours. So, White Lily flour, combined with the laminating technique that I use, leads to incredible pie crust results.

Fine Sea Salt: A small touch of fine sea salt in the crust gives this pie crust delicious flavor.

Granulated Sugar: A couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar give this pie crust a nice sweetness, and also helps with caramelization. The granulated sugar in the pie filling enhances the sweetness of the peaches. If your peaches are super sweet, you can cut the granulated sugar in the filling by 50 grams (1/4 cup) in the filling.

Butter: This pie crust uses the grandaddy of all pie crust fats: BUTTER. Butter, in my humble opinion, gives pie crust the absolute best taste. The laminating process (which we’ll talk about a little further down) helps ensure that this crust shatters all over your clothes like the best croissant. You’re welcome. 😊

Water: This ingredient is the bane of the existence of many a pie maker. Too little and you get a positively dry pie crust. Too much and you get a pie crust that never reaches its flaky potential. Oh, and every pie crust has a magic amount of water that only it knows before you start. There are so many variables that impact how much water a specific pie crust needs, and BB, you can only figure this out with practice.

Peaches, Peaches, and More Peaches: This peach pie features 942 grams (6 cups) of sliced peaches. If you’re making this pie at the peak of peach season in your area, I highly recommend using fresh ripe peaches because they are just…🤌🏾. However, if you’re not at peach peak, you can absolutely use frozen peach slices. The additional water from the frozen peaches will reduce during the cooking process, so you don’t have to worry about adding additional liquid to your peach pie.

Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is less processed than granulated sugar, leaving a delicious bit of molasses-y taste in the filling that is simply divine. That molasses complements the peaches and adds a beautiful depth to this dish.

Triple Sec: The orange notes in the Triple Sec bring the peach flavor shining through. It’s an optional ingredient though, but it’s a good one.

Lemon Juice: The sweetness of the peach filling needs a bit of acid to provide balance. The lemon juice does this beautifully!

All-Purpose Flour (for the pie filling): The flour in the pie filling acts as a thickener. Fruit pies are notorious for being runny without some kind of thickener, so this is very important!

Kosher Salt: The kosher salt in the pie filling is vitally important to control the sweetness from the natural sugars in the peaches, as well as the granulated and brown sugars. Without salt, the filling will be overpoweringly sweet. The tiny bit of kosher salt will help you avoid that!

Ground Ginger: Ground ginger provides a warm little zingy flavor to the peach filling. It’s a simple touch that makes a big difference!

Beginners Start Here

Pie is something that can strike fear in the heart of the most experienced bakers. That is because pie really forces us to hone in and develop our baker’s feel: that intangible sense that lets you know when you have enough water, when your laminated dough is ready to put into your pie plate, when your pie filling has reached the proper consistency…I could go on.

Fear not, Dear BB! In this section, I’m going to walk you through the techniques that I use in this pie, to give you a FAQ tutorial to make this amazing pie (and all of the pies in your future). Remember, the absolute best peach pie will come with practice, practice, practice. So that leads to the first tip:

Let’s get on to the fun part…making peach pie!

How to Make Classic Peach Pie

Start with the Filling

Start your peach pie by making your filling. Making your filling first allows for an optimal chill time before you have to use the filling for your pie dough.

Start by pitting between 7-9 medium peaches (I love yellow peaches for this pie) and slicing them into thin-ish slices (about 1/4″ each, but don’t get overly concerned about exact measurements here). (Note: to pit a peach, use a sharp knife and carefully cut around the peach lengthwise, following the line on the peach. Once you’ve cut all the way around, twist to separate the halves and remove the pit. You’re then ready to slice!)

Add your peaches, granulated sugar, brown sugar, triple sec (if using), lemon juice, flour, salt, and ground ginger to a large pot. Stir them all together to combine before turning on the heat.

Turn the heat onto medium high, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium. Continue stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced by about 1/3rd and has thickened. The peaches should be al dente at this point and not mushy. Remember, they will bake for another 45-60 minutes in the pie!

Once the pie filling is done, remove it to a non-reactive, heat-proof bowl. If you’re using a glass bowl, please make sure it’s made of tempered glass. Place in a refrigerator to cool until it’s time to use.

Easy peasy!

Make the Dough

To make your pie dough, you’ll need to start with very cold tools. Your stainless steel bowl, pastry cutter, and fork should all come straight from the freezer when you’re ready to use them.

Start by adding the 352 g (2.75 cups) of all-purpose flour, fine sea salt, and granulated sugar to your large mixing bowl.  Stir with your super-cold fork to combine the dry ingredients.

Next, you’ll add the cold butter to the flour mixture, and stir gently to cover the butter with the flour.  Once your butter is coated with flour, use a pastry cutter to break the butter into smaller pieces. The butter pieces should be between the size of a pea and the size of a walnut.  The pieces will not be uniform and this is ideal!

Once you’re done breaking up your butter, pour the 125 g (1/2 cup) of water evenly over the entire flour/butter mixture, making sure not to put too much water in one place, the stir very gently to combine with your handy fork.  The mixture should be shaggy but combined; remember, this is not cake batter, so it shouldn’t be runny. If necessary, add water a tablespoon at a time until you get the correct consistency.  You shouldn’t need more than about 3 additional tablespoons!

Split the pie dough into two equal-ish parts in your mixing bowl. Shape each half into a fat disc and cover each disc with plastic wrap. Place in a refrigerator for at least two hours before rolling out.

Build the Pie

When you’re ready to “roll” (😂 sorry, couldn’t be helped), place a pastry mat on top of a countertop. If you want bonus points, you can even fill a plastic bag with water and ice on the countertop for 20 minutes before rolling out your dough. On super hot days, this is very helpful!

Generously dust your pastry mat with flour and cover your rolling pin with flour, then get ready to laminate your dough! To laminate, start by taking one of the pie dough discs out of the refrigerator. Test to see if the dough is in the sweet spot for rolling by gently tapping the plastic-wrapped dough with the rolling pin. If the rolling pin makes small indentations in the dough, then you’re ready!

Place a generous amount of flour on the top and bottom of your dough disc, and make sure that your rolling pin is also generously floured. Don’t worry about the flour; it will work itself out…I promise!

Roll the dough out to about 1/4″ thickness, like this:

Then, fold the dough over twice until it’s the shape of a rough square. Roll out the dough again to the same thickness. Repeat the folding and rolling cycle one more time, making sure to dust with flour as needed. It will seem like a lot of flour (and it is!), but I promise the finished product will be fine.

Want to learn all of the techniques that you’ll need to execute this Classic Peach Pie? Join my Classic Peach Pie Class at the BwB Home Baking Academy!

Join the Class!

Once you’ve laminated twice and rolled to 1/4″ thickness, brush the excess flour with a pastry brush. Use your rolling pin to carefully place the dough over the pie dish. The dough should overhang the edges of the pie dish, so you can place some plastic wrap beneath the pie dish to keep the overhang off of the refrigerator shelf.

While the bottom dough and the pie dish are getting acquainted in the pie dish, take the time to roll out the second half of the pie dough. Remove the pie dish and the filling from the refrigerator and place the completely cooled filling into the pie. Then, use your pastry brush to gently brush a tiny amount of water around the edges of the bottom crust, and place the rolled-out top crust on top of the pie. Using kitchen shears, cut the overhang to about 1.5″ all around the pie dish. Then, fold over the edge of the pie crust to seal. You can finish by crimping or fluting the pie all the way around!

Place the pie that you’ve built…into the refrigerator and turn on your oven to 375°F. To ensure that it’s a true 375°, use an oven thermometer to help you determine where to set your oven. Allow your oven a good 45-60 minute preheat to ensure that it gets to the actual baking temperature.

Cut 4-6 vents in the top of your pie crust and brush with egg wash (I use the whole egg). Place in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Keep an eye on the top crust; if it’s browning too quickly you can cover the whole top of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning!

And when it’s done? Oh, when it is done! It will positively sing to you:

If you’d like, you can remove the pie from the oven at the 25-minute mark and sprinkle with turbinado or sparkling sugar. But this isn’t a necessary step. It just makes the pie extra pretty!

As you can see, “pretty” isn’t a problem for this beauty:

Important Tools Used in this Classic Peach Pie

I am so happy to announce that Begin with Butter has its own Amazon Storefront, where you can find all of the amazing equipment that I used in this special pie! Want even more specific links? Check out the recommendations, below.

I do get paid a commission when you purchase, but these are the tools that I use all the time in my own kitchen.

If you have these tools already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this recipe!

• Oven Thermometer
• Digital Food Scale
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
• OXO Spatula Set
• Pastry Cutter
• Rolling Pin
• Pastry Mat
• Pastry Brush

I am exceptionally proud of this pie, and I can’t wait to hear your stories about it! May you have many great successes serving this Classic Peach Pie, and may you and your loved ones enjoy this pie for years to come!

Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @beginwithbutter so that I can shout out your success!

Until next time…

Classic Peach Pie

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This Classic Peach Pie is the most special way to use all of those gorgeous summer peaches. It is as beautiful as it is delicious and will stun all of your guests.

• Total Time: ~5-7 hours
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

Ingredients

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For the Filling:

• 942 g (6 c) sliced peaches
• 300 g (1.5 c) granulated sugar
• 50 g (1/4 c) brown sugar
• 2 tbsp triple sec (optional)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 32 g (1/4 c) flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

For the Crust:

• 352 g (2.75 c) All-Purpose Flour (I really, really, really love White Lily for this pie crust)
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 227 g (1 c) unsalted butter, cold, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
• 125 g (1/2 c) water, plus more if needed

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Instructions

To Make the Filling:

1. Add sliced peaches, granulated sugar, brown sugar, triple sec (if using), lemon juice, flour, salt, ginger to a large pot.  Stir to combine.
2. Place on a stovetop, on medium high heat, until the mixture begins to bubble, stirring frequently to keep from burning. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to medium.  Remove from heat once the mixture has reduced by 1/3 and has thickened, and when the peaches are soft but not mushy.
3. Immediately place in a heat-proof bowl and set aside until the filling is completely cooled.

To Make the Crust:

1. Add the 352 g all-purpose flour, fine sea salt, and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl.  Stir with a fork to combine.
2. Add the butter to the flour mixture.  Stir gently to cover the butter with the flour.  Then use a pastry cutter to break the butter into smaller pieces. The butter pieces should be between the size of a pea and the size of a walnut.  The pieces will not be uniform and this is ideal!
3. Pour the 125 g of water evenly over the flour/butter mixture and stir very gently to combine with a fork.  The mixture should be shaggy but combined. If necessary, add water a tablespoon at a time until you get the correct consistency.  You should not need more than about 3 additional tablespoons!
4. Split the pie dough into two equal-ish parts in your mixing bowl. Shape each half into the size of a fat disc and cover each disc with plastic wrap. Place in a refrigerator for at least two hours before rolling out.

To Make the Pie:

1. Place flour on a pastry mat.  Place one of the thick discs atop the well-floured pastry mat.  Flour the top of the dough disc and also your rolling pin. Test to see if the dough is ready by gently tapping your rolling pin on top of the disc; if the rolling pin makes small indentations, you’re ready to roll. Gently roll to 1/4” thickness. If the dough breaks when rolling, allow the dough to sit for 2-3 minutes and then try again. Dough often breaks when the butter is still too cold from the refrigerator.
2. Once you’ve reached 1/4” thickness, fold the dough in half two times. Add flour as necessary and turn over the pie dough occasionally; don’t worry about over-flouring at this point.
3. After folding the dough, roll the dough again to 1/4” thickness.  Repeat this step one more time, for a total of three times.
4. Brush excess flour from the top of the pie dough. Use your rolling pin to place the dough into a 9” or 10” pie plate. Place the pie plate in the refrigerator while you roll out the second half of the dough.
5. Roll out the second half of the pie dough, using the same technique as above.
6. Add the cooled peach filling to the pie plate.
7. Using a pastry brush, brush the rim of the bottom dough with a small amount of water. Add the top crust and press gently to seal. Trim the pie crust to 1” outside of the pie plate, and fold over the crust to seal. If desired, crimp or flute the crust.
8. Place the completed pie in the refrigerator while you warm your oven to a true 375°F, and place an oven rack on the bottom third of the oven. Allow your oven a significant amount of time to reach the proper temperature. I allow my oven at least 45 minutes to come to temperature.
9. Make an egg wash by adding a whole egg and 1 tsp of water to a small bowl, then whisking thoroughly to combine.
10. Before baking, cut small vents into the top pie crust with a sharp knife, then brush with egg wash.  Bake for 35 minutes, then remove briefly from the oven and top with sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar (if desired). Allow to bake for another 25-35 minutes, or until the pie crust is cooked through.
11. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.
12. Serving idea: my No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream and Salted Caramel No-Churn Ice Cream are perfect accompaniments for this pie!

Notes

• Allow your oven to come to a true 375°F before baking. The pie needs a good amount of time in the refrigerator after building before baking; this will help the crust avoid shrinkage.

You can learn all of the best techniques for making this incredible pie in my Classic Peach Pie class! At the BwB Home Baking Academy, you can get hands-on, super fun instruction in this incredible class. For only $19.99, you can gain knowledge that will help you with every pie that you ever make! Click below to get signed up!

• Author: Shani
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Dessert