Summer Peach Pie

When peaches are at their ripest and the kitchen smells of warm sugar, this is the pie we make on repeat — a tender lattice crust over juicy, barely-spiced summer fruit.

The whole game with peach pie is managing the juice. Ripe peaches give up a lot of liquid, so we macerate, drain, and reduce that syrup back into the filling. The result is a pie that slices cleanly and tastes purely of peach, not of cornstarch. Use freestone peaches if you can find them — they're far easier to slice.

Ingredients

For a 9-inch (23 cm) lattice pie.

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar & 1 tsp salt
• 230 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 6–8 tbsp ice water
• 1.2 kg ripe peaches, peeled & sliced
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 1 egg, beaten (for the wash)

Method

1. Make the crust: rub cold butter into the flour, sugar and salt until you have pea-sized pieces, add ice water until it just holds, split in two, wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
2. Toss the sliced peaches with the sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt. Let them sit 30 minutes, then drain the juices into a small pan.
3. Simmer the drained juices until reduced to a thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Whisk the cornstarch into a splash of cold water, stir it into the syrup, then fold all of it back through the peaches.
4. Roll the bottom crust into a 9-inch dish, add the filling. Roll the second disc, cut into strips and weave a lattice over the top. Trim and crimp the edge.
5. Brush the lattice with beaten egg, sprinkle with sugar, and chill 20 minutes while the oven heats to 220°C (425°F).
6. Bake 20 minutes at 220°C, then drop to 190°C (375°F) for a further 35 minutes, until the crust is golden and the juices bubble thickly. Cool at least 2–3 hours before slicing.

If summer's treating you to a glut of peaches, this freezes beautifully unbaked — assemble, freeze solid, then bake straight from frozen with an extra 15 minutes.