This luscious peach slab pie is packed full of juicy sweet peaches. The filling has a few unusual ingredients that elevate the dish to the next level. There’s paprika, which adds a hint of sweetness and gives the filling an extra boost of yellow orange color. There’s a dash of bitters that add a subtle dimension to the filling, keeping it from becoming cloyingly sweet. There’s raspberry vinegar that rounds out the juiciness. And there’s a grated apple that help thicken the filling without the need for more starch. Most of these ingredients are optional, and you can see my section above to find out what they add to the pie, but they do elevate this dish, making it one of the best peach pies you’ve had!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fruit, peaches, pie, slab pie
Prep Time 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time 55 minutesminutes
Rest time 2 hourshours
Servings 12
Calories 345kcal
Author Irvin
Ingredients
Crust
2cupsall-purpose flour280 grams
1 1/4cupwhole wheat flour190 grams (or substitute all-purpose in place)
1teaspoonkosher salt
3/4cupto 1 cup ice cold water
1 1/4cupunsalted cold butter2 1/2 sticks or 285 grams
Filling
8medium ripe peaches2 1/2 to 3 pounds
3/4cuppacked light brown sugar165 g
1/4cuptapioca starchor cornstarch, 35 g
1tablespoonraspberry vinegarcan substitute lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 1/2teaspoonsweet paprika
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4teaspoonground ginger
1/4teaspoonground nutmeg
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
1dash bitterslike Angostura, optional but recommend
1Granny Smith applepeeled, cored and quartered
To Finish
1large egg yolk
1tablespooncold water
2tablespoonturbinado sugarsparkling sugar or white granulated sugar
Instructions
Make the Crust
Make the pie crust dough by placing the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkle them over the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, toss the cubes in the flour then smash them into flat pieces, roughly the size of a pea.
Once all the butter is flattened and broken up, drizzle 2/3 cup of the ice water over the dough and toss with a fork until a dough starts to form. Using your hands massage the dry ingredients gently into the wet parts. If the dough looks too dry, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until a solid dough forms.
Divide the dough into two parts and then flatten each part into a disk about 5-inches wide and 1-inch thick. Wrap each dough with plastic wrap and then refrigerate for a minimum of an hour or overnight (or up to 2 days in the fridge).
Make the Filling
Once the dough has chilled, start prepping the filling. First peel the peaches (see my section above for details on the best way to do that), then slice them to be 1/2 inch thick. Usually this is about 12 to 16 slices per average peach, a little thinner than a typical peach slice. Place them in a large glass, ceramic or plastic bowl.
Add the brown sugar, tapioca starch (or cornstarch), raspberry vinegar, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and dash of bitters into the bowl.Take the apple and grate it over the filling. Then gently mix the filling together.
Assemble the Pie
Start assembling the pie. If you’re using a 9 x 13-inch baking pan (the kind that you make brownies in), lightly spray it with cooking oil, then line it with parchment paper. If you are using a 9 x 13-inch rimmed baking sheet (known as a quarter sheet pan), skip this step. Flour a clean surface and then roll out a disk of dough into an 11 x 15-inch rectangle.
Fold the dough into quarters. Move the dough carefully to the pan. Unfold and fit the dough into the baking sheet or pan, trying to NOT stretch the dough as much as possible. This will help prevent shrinkage.
Pour the peach filling into the pastry dough and then distribute the filling evenly throughout the pan.Repeat the rolling out of the dough with the remaining disk, making sure it 11 x 15 as well. Now you can place this dough directly over the pie (to make a double crusted pie) and then cut steam vents into the top with a sharp knife. Or you can cut the dough into strips, then “weave” a crust on top, first putting strips of dough in one direction, then alternating and lifting up the dough to weave it into a top crust.
Seal the dough around the edges with your fingers, creating a scalloped edge. Then place back in the fridge to chill for 20 to 30 minutes. This will help the crimped edges keep their shape and maximize crust flakiness. While the pie is chilling, pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
Bake the pie
Once the pie has chilled and the oven has reached temperature, place the cold pie on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any overflow spillage as it bakes). Beat the egg yolk with water, and brush it over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with the turbinado (or white) sugar, then bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Then reduce the temperature of the oven to 375°F and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the center of the pie is bubbling up through the top crust vents or holes.
Let the pie cool for 1 hour on a wire rack for the filling to thicken before serving.