Hi hi! I wanted to just sneak in with one more peach recipe while we are still hanging onto the end of summer with this Peach and vanilla bean pie, with a fresh rosemary crust. I have a couple of peach pies hanging out here on the site - these little peach and thyme hand pies, this peach and blueberry pie, and these mini peach pies from a while back, but realised that until now, there wasn’t a recipe for just a regular old peach pie! I think peach pie, made during peach season, would have to be one of my absolute favourites.
I ramped it up a touch with this guy by adding some fresh rosemary into the pie crust. Adding fresh herbs into pie crust is one of my favourite ways to add flavour to the pie crust, and stone fruit goes so beautifully with the woody flavour of the rosemary. You can absolutely leave it out, but I love the little variation that it gives. I kept everything else pretty simple - peaches, sweetener and starch in the filling, elevated with a little vanilla bean paste. Simple, but so, so delicious. Happy peach Pie-ing!
A few wee tips:
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The recipe for the pie dough I have listed here makes quite a lot - I needed almost all of it for this lattice. If you are making a less complicated top for your pie and just want a standard double crust recipe, reduce the quantities by ⅓ - so you will use 2 ½ cups flour, and 225g butter, 1 tsp cardamom etc.
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I like using a wee tip that my friend Erin taught me to make the pie dough nice and smooth and easy to work with. I make the dough, shape it into two rectangles, rest it in the fridge wrapped for about an hour, then remove it and roll it out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. I then give it a letter fold (as you would a letter), roll out to a rectangle, letter fold again, then roll out slightly, and shape into a disc. I then re-wrap it, and leave it to rest overnight. This makes the dough more homogenous without compromising the flaky texture that you want in the pie dough, and it makes it a total dream to work with. For me, it’s a game changer.
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When I am making a lattice pie I know I will need more dough for the top crust than the bottom, so I usually make one portion of dough bigger than the other when I initially divide it after mixing to account for this. For this dough I split it ⅓ to ⅔. I usually shape the dough for the bottom crust into a disc, and the dough for the top crust into a rectangle which makes for an easy roll-out for cutting strips for lattice.
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The quantity of rosemary called for in the recipe seems like a lot, but it is just enough to give a nice subtle taste to the pie. Feel free to leave it out, or this pie would also be amazing with this cardamom crust.
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I peeled my peaches for this because I prefer them unpeeled - to do this, you boil a large pot of water, and set up a large bowl with ice water. Score an x in the bottom of each peach, and boil them, 3 or 4 at a time, for 30 to 45 seconds. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice bath. The skins should slip off. Non-peeled peaches are fine too - this process can be a bit of a pain, but I think it’s worth it (and it’s pretty satisfying!)
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I finished this pie with a super easy ‘lattice’ - a bunch of braids laid across the pie, and then some cut-outs around the edge to form a border. Cut-outs are my favourite way to finish off a pie like this, as spaced out braids can be hard to neatly crimp. Pie stamps fix all your issues!
Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust
- Makes one 9” pie -
Rosemary Pie Dough
3 ¾ cups (540g) Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 Tbsp (13g) sugar
1 Tsp vanilla bean paste
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 sticks (345g) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup (240ml) cold water
1 cup ice
¼ cup (60ml) Apple cider vinegar
Filling
1300g fresh peaches, peeled (see notes), de-stoned, and cut into eighths
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
40g tapioca starch
150g turbinado / raw sugar
Pinch of salt
Egg wash - 1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Turbinado / raw sugar to finish
- PROCESS -
ROSEMARY PIE DOUGH
Place flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Add the vanilla bean paste and fresh rosemary and rub through with your fingers. Mix to combine. Cut butter into chunks, and add to the flour. Toss lightly to coat. Working quickly, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are only pea-sized chunks left. You want a few lumps of butter remaining to keep the pastry nice and tender.
Combine ice, water and cider vinegar in a bowl. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the ice water into the flour and butter mixture, and using a stiff spatula or your hands, mix in well. Continue adding water a tablespoon at a time ( I normally need about ½ to ¾ cup, but add slowly) until you have a dough that holds together well, but is not too wet. Squeeze together with your fingertips to make a homogenous dough. Divide the dough into two - I like to do a ⅓ to ⅔ split. Shape the smaller portion into a disc and the larger into a rectangle. If desired, roll out and perform letter folds (see notes) Rest in the fridge for at least two hours, or preferably overnight.
FILLING AND ASSEMBLY
On a lightly floured surface, roll the disc into a circle slightly larger than your pie dish. You want it to be approximately ⅛ inch (3mm) in thickness. Line a 9" pie dish, leaving the extra dough overhanging. Trim the dough so there is about 1 inch overlapping the edge of your dish. Place in the fridge while you prepare the filling and lattice.
Roll out the second piece of dough (the rectangle) into a rough rectangle approximately ⅛ inch thick. Use a pastry cutter to cut strips for your lattice. If you would like to make a braid, roll a piece of pie dough into a long thin rectangle, cut thin strips, and braid. Place your strips and braids onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and store in the fridge until ready to use. Press together the scraps and re-roll - these are good for extra braid strips or for using pie stamps to cut out for the border.
In a large bowl, toss together the peaches and vanilla bean paste. Combine the tapioca starch, sugar and salt in a small bowl, then add to the peaches and mix to combine. Transfer the filling to the lined pie dish, mounding the filling in the middle. Remember that it will bake down a little, so it is ok for the pie to seem a bit full.
Arrange the strips of pie dough or braids on the top of the pie, weaving into your desired lattice. If you are adding stamps, trim any overlapping pie dough and lattice strips so that they are flush with the edge of the pie dish, then glue on the stamps with a little egg wash. If you are crimping, trim the crust with a little overhang and then crimp as desired.
Rest the pie in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. While the pie is resting in the fridge, preheat the oven to 425˚f/ 220˚c. Place a baking tray on the bottom rack of the oven.
Brush the pie with egg wash, and sprinkle liberally with raw sugar. Bake at 425˚f / 220˚c for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to go golden. Reduce the temperature 375˚f / 190˚c, and bake until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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