Peach Pie
A double-crust pie of ripe summer peaches with sugar, lemon and cinnamon in a flaky all-butter crust. Cool it for three hours so the juices thicken.
Making Peach Pie Ahead
Keeps covered at room temperature for 1 day, then in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezes for 3 months.
How to Make Peach Pie
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Mix the flour, salt and 1 tbsp sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips, leaving some pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle over 90 ml of iced water and mix with a fork until the dough just comes together, adding more water only if needed. Divide in two, shape each into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
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Cut a cross in the base of each peach and lower them into boiling water for 30 seconds. Lift them into cold water and slip off the skins. Halve, stone and slice into 1 cm wedges.
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Toss the peaches with the 100 g sugar, cornflour, lemon juice, cinnamon and vanilla in a large bowl.
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Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F (200°C / 390°F fan) with a baking tray on the middle shelf. Roll out one disc on a floured surface to a 30 cm circle and line a 23 cm pie dish. Tip in the peaches and dot with the diced butter.
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Roll out the second disc, lay it over the filling, trim and crimp the edges to seal, and cut 4 slits in the top. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
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Set the pie on the hot tray and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and the juices bubble thickly through the slits.
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Cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before slicing, so that the filling can set.
Tips for Success
- Keep everything for the pastry cold, including the butter, the water and your hands. Warm butter melts into the flour and makes a tough crust.
- Bake the pie on a hot tray on the middle shelf. The heat from below cooks the bottom crust and stops it turning soggy.
- Wait until the pie is cool. It is the hardest part of the recipe, but a hot pie is a runny one.
Some Background
Peach pie is the pie of high summer, especially in the American South, where Georgia is known as the Peach State. When peaches are at their peak, sweet, fragrant and juicy, they need very little in the way of embellishment, and a pie with a crisp buttery crust and a soft filling of fruit is one of the best ways to eat them. The filling depends on the fruit. Freestone peaches, with flesh that comes away easily from the stone, are the easiest to prepare, and they should be ripe but still firm, so that they hold their shape when baked. They are peeled, which is done by dipping them in boiling water for half a minute and slipping the skins off, then sliced and tossed with sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and cornflour, which thickens the juices as they cook. The crust is a flaky all-butter pastry, and the secret to it is cold: cold butter, iced water, and a rest in the fridge before it is rolled. The pie bakes at a high temperature at first, to set the pastry, and then at a lower one, to cook the fruit. It must be cooled for at least three hours before it is cut, as the filling is liquid and thickens as it cools. Cut too soon, it runs across the plate.
Good Alongside
Vanilla ice cream · Whipped cream · Black coffee
Questions About Peach Pie
How long does Peach Pie take to make?
About 2 hours of hands-on work — 50 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 10 minutes of cooking — plus 4 hours of Chilling and cooling, so allow 6 hours from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
What are the key tips for making Peach Pie?
Keep everything for the pastry cold, including the butter, the water and your hands. Warm butter melts into the flour and makes a tough crust. Bake the pie on a hot tray on the middle shelf. The heat from below cooks the bottom crust and stops it turning soggy. Wait until the pie is cool. It is the hardest part of the recipe, but a hot pie is a runny one.
What should I serve with Peach Pie?
Vanilla ice cream; Whipped cream; Black coffee.
Can Peach Pie be made ahead or frozen?
Keeps covered at room temperature for 1 day, then in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezes for 3 months.
Is Peach Pie suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Peach Pie?
About 482 kcal per serving, with 5 g protein, 57 g carbohydrate and 26 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Peach Pie Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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