Description
After a few additional years of testing, this is now a perfected peach pie recipe. As the pie bakes, expect a messy, bubbly, and juicy filling. As the pie cools, the filling sets into a soft, yet sliceable filling. For best success, follow all of my tips above and watch the video tutorial below.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust or All Butter Pie Crust (both recipes make 2 crusts, 1 for bottom and 1 for top)
- 3 pounds (1.4kg) peaches (about 8–9 medium)*
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour OR 1/4 cup instant tapioca
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1–2 teaspoons peeled minced fresh ginger, optional
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare either pie crust recipe through step 5.
- Prep the peaches: Peel the peaches and then cut into 1-inch chunks. You need about 8 cups of peach chunks, which is around 1.4kg. You can peel and cut the peaches up to 1–2 days ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until ready to make the filling.
- In a large bowl, stir the peach chunks, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon together until thoroughly combined. Set filling in the refrigerator while you roll out the dough. No need to cover it.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat to 425°F (218°C). Place baking sheet on the bottom oven rack to catch any peach juices.
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch round pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Pour and spread filling evenly into pie dish. Dot the pieces of butter on top of the filling. Set aside at room temperature or in the refrigerator as you assemble the top pie crust.
- Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut strips of dough; in the pictured pie, I cut 6 2-inch-wide strips. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. (Here’s a lattice pie crust tutorial if you need visuals.) To seal the edges, use a small paring knife or kitchen shears to trim excess dough that extends more than 1.5–2 inches over the edge. Fold bottom pie dough edges back over and press/meld into the lattice edges to form a smooth, neat rim. Flute or crimp the pie crust edges with a fork.
- Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if using.
- Bake the pie on the center rack at 425°F for 20 minutes; then, keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the oven temperature down to 375° (190°C). Place a pie crust shield (see Note for homemade shield) on the edges to prevent them from over-browning. Continue baking the pie until the filling’s juices are bubbling everywhere, including in the center, 45–50 more minutes. This sounds like a long time, but under-baking the pie means a soupy, paste-like filling. If you want to be precise, the internal temperature of the filling taken with an instant read thermometer should be around 200°F (93°C) when done. Tip: If needed towards the end of bake time, remove the pie crust shield and tent an entire piece of foil on top of the pie if the top looks like it’s getting too brown.
- Remove pie from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving. Filling will be too juicy if the pie is warm when you slice it.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This a great pie to make 1 day in advance, because the filling will have time to set overnight. The pie crust dough can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Feel free to peel and chop peaches 1–2 days in advance, but do not mix with the other filling ingredients until you’re ready to bake the pie. The peaches will release too much liquid, so it’s best to make the filling immediately before you pour/spread into the bottom crust. Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Pastry Blender | Pie Dish | Rolling Pin | Pizza Cutter for lattice pie dough strips | Vegetable/Fruit Peeler | Citrus Juicer | Pastry Brush | Sparkling Sugar | Pie Crust Shield
- Peaches: You want slightly firm (not hard) peaches with zero bruises or soft spots. Your best bet is to purchase or pick about 9–10 firm peaches (about 3 pounds), then let them sit in a paper bag for 1–2 days to ripen. Some may have soft spots after this time, so that is why I suggest buying a couple more than you actually need. Fresh peaches are best for peach pie, though you can get away with unsweetened frozen peaches. If using frozen, thaw, chop, and blot them dry before using. Canned peaches are not ideal as they’re already too soft and mushy.
- Ginger: 1–2 teaspoons of fresh minced ginger adds exceptional flavor. If you love ginger, use 2 teaspoons. If you don’t have fresh, use 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger instead. If you don’t love ginger, leave it out.
- Crumble Topping: Want to skip the top crust? Try this peach crumble pie recipe.
- Aluminum Foil Pie Crust Shield: You can purchase a pie crust shield or make one from aluminum foil. Cut a 14-inch square of aluminum foil. Fold in half. Cut out a 5-inch semi-circle on the folded edge. Unfold. Carefully fit the aluminum foil over the pie crust edges, lightly securing down on the sides as best you can (careful, the pie is hot!), leaving the center of the pie exposed.
- Braiding Pie Dough: Some photos in this post show a braided pie dough topping, which is an optional way to decorate your pie. To achieve the same look as the braided pie, you’ll need 3 pie crusts. 1 for the bottom crust and 2 for the strips/braiding. (You’ll have scraps leftover, simply mold into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for another pie.) As you can see in the photos, I latticed with 6 braids and 7 strips total. The strips were about 1-inch thick. The braids were assembled with 3 1/2-inch strips. See my detailed How to Braid Pie Crust page for more tips.