lattice top peach pie with ginger

Peach was the first pie I ever made well. It’s the taste of midsummer, with tangy, sweet, and even gooey peach flavor. I like mine simple, with plenty of zest, a squeeze of lemon, and here, the warming presence of ginger. Comfort food for summer, wrapped in an elegant crust.

This pie used really ripe, smallish peaches. They were so ripe, in fact, that I peeled the skins right off with my hands. I really only peel my fruit when I want things to be extra fancy. In this case, it was just really easy to do. Watch the liquid content of your filling, and hold back the juices if the filling looks at all mushy.

If you are afraid of homemade dough, just try it. Mediocre homemade dough is better than Pillsbury every time.

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Lattice Top Peach Pie with Ginger

A lattice-top peach pie recipe made with fresh ginger, with tips on making a great crust, even if you're a beginner.

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Brooklyn Supper, adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

• for the crust
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/3 cup ice water or more if needed
• for the filling
• 7 medium or 12 small peaches
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon to sprinkle over the crust
• 3 - 4 tablespoons pulverized instant tapioca I do this in my coffee grinder
• 1 1- inch section of ginger peeled and grated
• pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, process flour, salt, and sugar together until combined, about 10 seconds. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of large peas, about ten 1-second pulses.
2. Using fork, mix sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water in small bowl. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture, just until ingredients are combined. Turn dough out onto your work surface. Divide dough into 2 balls (one slightly larger than the other) and flatten each into a disc; wrap each round in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not hard – 1 to 2 hours – before rolling.
3. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet into the oven for preheating (this is a really important step for getting the bottom crust baked before the pie filling gets to it).
4. Remove the larger of the dough rounds from the refrigerator and roll on a on a lightly floured surface or a large piece of parchment paper into a 14-inch circle. Fold dough into quarters, then place dough point in center of a buttered deep dish pie pan. Unfold dough. Gently press dough into sides of pan leaving portion that overhangs lip of pie plate in place. Refrigerate while preparing fruit.
5. If you’d like, peel the peaches. In my case they were so ripe that the skins came right off, though I wonder if the slices might have held together better with the skins in tact. Slice into 1/2 – 3/4-inch thick slices, and gently toss with the lemon juice, zest, sugar, tapioca, ginger and spices. Set aside while you roll out the lattice.
6. Next, get the second dough round and roll it out. It is fine if this dough is more rectangular than round. Working quickly, cut long strips with a sharp knife. Spoon the filling into the prepared shell–peaches can get soggy, so if your fruit is ripe, leave most of the juices out. Then weave the lattice. Think kindergarten weaving and you’ll be fine. Find a photo of another pie mid weave here.
7. Place pie in oven onto preheated cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees F, then rotate pie, turn down to 375 degrees F and cook for an additional 25 - 35 minutes until lattice is just golden and the filling is bubbly. Watch that the crust doesn’t burn and shield with tin foil if it gets too dark. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool thoroughly, for at least 2 hours for the fruit to set.