I am forever on the hunt for new pie dough. They can either be too easy to be true, or so complicated that i regret the ‘envy’ of making a pie. One afternoon I was hunting on one of my favorite websites, JoyofBaking.com and i found this exquisite Cranberry Walnut Galette which was delicious, but right away I noticed (with subtle adjustments) the crust was a keeper. The second time around, I had a basketful of beautiful ripe peaches, I used them and the rest is history. “Peach Fold Over Pie” was born.
What You’ll Need for Dough:
- 1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Sugar (I use brown)
- 1/2 Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into chunks (I use Smart Balance margarine if i need it to be Parve)
- 3-4 Tbsp Ice Cold Water
What You’ll Need for Peaches:
- 5 Large Peaches/ 3 Cups of Slices Peaches
- 1 Tbsp Sugar (I use brown)
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon (optional)
- Confection Sugar
- All the Imagination You Can Muster
Pie Dough:
In a food processor, place the flour, salt and sugar and process until combined. Add the cold butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (about 15 seconds). Sprinkle about 3 Tbsp of ice water over the pastry and process just until the dough holds together when pinched. Add a little more water, if necessary. Turn the dough out onto your work surface, form it into a large round, place in a big ziplock bag, and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out (about 30-60 minutes).
Pre-heat your oven to 375 to 400 degrees F, depends on your oven.
While your dough is chilling you can prepare your peaches. Slice them up, place them in a bowl combine with sugar and cinnamon.
Once the dough has chilled, remove from refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 13 inch round. I use a baking sheet (parchment paper) to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. -To ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outward to get uniform thickness). If your parchment doesn’t look to happy after working on it transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with new parchment paper. For the folding part, dough is much easier to manage while cold, so you can place back into the refrigerator to re-chill, or you can be brave and Ce la vie, whatever it is, it is :)
Start placing your peaches in a neat circular fashion, give yourself a 2 inch border of empty dough in order to fold over. When you have a neat enough circle of peaches, lift the corners of the parchment paper one at a time and let the dough neatly fall on top of the peaches at the edges.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the peaches slightly caramelized from their sugars.
TIPS: I encourage healthier alternatives for all-purpose flour, SPELT & WHOLE WHEAT work perfectly. The same way I improvised with the peaches, the same can be done with almost everything. Apples, blueberries, apricots, ONIONS, yes, I said onions and the list goes on…
Bon Appetite!
