I have a great significant other. The recipe for this Blushing Peach Pie calls for a raspberry syrup. Knowing full well that I would have to deal with all the peaches and making and unfamiliar pasty, I was just going to buy it at the store — a valid option according to the Baker’s Companion. He decided to make the raspberry syrup for me. I cannot recommend anything different. This pie must be made with really good raspberry syrup.
The peaches I got at the local farmers market so they were also wonderful. I recommend listening to something while pitting all those peaches. Especially if they are they type that have a tendency to get split pits or don’t fall off the pit easily.
The real difficulty of pie lies in the crust. At least, the real difficulty for me, lies in the crust. I always think that pastry crust needs a gentle hand and perfect temperatures to avoid raw dough and a soggy bottom. For this recipe, I followed the Basic Pie Crust recipe with the Medium flake method. According to the Baker’s Companion, medium flake is the most common pie crust. With only 4 ingredients (flour, salt, unsalted butter, and water), this crust was fabulously simple-looking. However, there are over 2 pages of instructions on how to properly handle all of the dough.
Following all of those instructions to the letter, I was able to make a dough that was not too sticky and not too dry. After refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes, as prescribed, it rolled out easily into some of the thinnest pie crust I have seen.
Perhaps I have the wrong idea of pie crust in my head. I always think of the too-thick pie crust that is found in your standard grocery store bakery. It is too thick for me anyway. I like the pies more for the filling than the crust. Always have.
I carefully put the pie crust into the pie plate followed by the peaches which had been peeled, pitted and prepared with nearly all the other ingredients. I then proceeded to try my hand at a lattice top.
The King Arthur Baker’s Companion tells you to build the lattice top on a plate or other surface and then slide it on to the top of the pie. This did not work for me at all. I ended up just weaving the pie crust together and hoping for the best. I sprinkled sugar on top and hoped for the best.
This was not the prettiest pie I have ever seen. It was my first pie that I have ever made solo (that did not use a graham cracker crust and a filling made from a Jell-O branded box). I will say it is the best pie I have ever had.
The crust was so delicate and cooked all the way through. No soggy bottom. No raw bits — not even where the lattice pieces overlapped.
I ate half the pie in two days and shared the rest. I don’t think that pie saw a fully 48 hours of life.
I highly recommend this pie and this crust recipe.
Food For Me 