Just in case you’re looking for an excuse to consumer obscene amounts of whipped cream or French Vanilla Ice Cream… just in case. Here we are!
The days are long and warming and I’m pretty sure I can smell peaches and berries in the air. It’s intoxicating and has me daydreaming about fruit pie combinations while lingering in the produce section at the grocery.
Today we peach and blueberry. Soon I’m thinking a strawberry raspberry pie is in order. Don’t even get me started on apricots.
It’s about to be a great summer!
You know how I feel about pie crust. I’ve never been shy about coaxing large amounts of butter into perfectly flakey pie crusts.
Sidenote: Five Tips For The Best All-Butter Pie Crust From Scratch.
This version of pie perfection is made with gluten-free flour. I love the King Arthur Flour variety and the only amendment I made was to add an egg yolk to the buttermilk. The yolk helps with binding the crust but let me be honest, the crust was still a bit crumbly.
Here’s the nitty gritty.
Our gluten-free flour blend is tossed together with sugar, salt, and loads of cold butter. Some butter will be in chunks the size of peas, other butter bits will be more broken down into the almost-pie-dough dough.
Buttermilk and an egg yolk are added to the flour mixture and the whole shebang gets a good toss. Try to moisten all of the flour. We’ll need all of that cohesion during rolling.
The dough is dumped onto a clean counter, shaggy and all, and kneaded into two disks.
I found that these gluten-free pie disks needed a bit more needed than their gluten-full counterparts. It worked best to really press all of the loose flour ends into the disk, also working the butter and the buttermilk together. Get in there and make sure it all sticks.
After kneading, the dough needs an hour of rest in the refrigerator. Just enough to chill the butter and redistribute the moisture. If you’re refrigerating your pie dough overnight, allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before rolling out.
Rolling out this gluten-free crust took a little more tender loving care. The dough is a bit more cracky, cranky, and crumbly so I let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes, kneaded it into a more cohesive disk, then rolled gently on a well-floured surface.
It also helps to move the dough around the floured counter as it increases in size. This will ensure that the dough isn’t secretly sticking to the counter in certain spots.
Aren’t you happy to see another peach season?
HECK YES!
Peaches, ripe and ready! Mixed with fresh blueberries because that seemed like a really great idea.
Spices? You know it: ground cinnamon, nutmeg, a few dashes of dried ginger, and how about a sprinkling of coriander too.
Tossed with sugar, spices, some of our gluten-free flour, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
The peaches will start to release some of their tasty juices… exactly what we want to happen.
Into the bottom pie crust! Fruit, juices, everything!
Top crust, placed properly and crimped.
The crust is brushed lightly with a beaten egg to encourage browning and sprinkled with granulated sugar to ensure irresistibility.
Flakey and browned to just lovely. This pie is juicy and summery. It makes no apologies for oozing summer fruit goodness all over your plate.
Best served with whipped cream and an enthusiastic spirit.
- 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten-free multi-purpose Flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg yolk, beaten
- 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
- about 3 pounds ripe peaches (I used about 6 peaches)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 to 2/3 cups granulated sugar (depending on the sweetness of your peaches)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- scant 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 tablespoons King Arthur Gluten-free multi-purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons sugar for topping crust before baking
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture. Some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes; some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the egg yolk and cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring the dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two cohesive disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help rechill the butter and distribute the moisture.
- To make the filling, wash and slice peaches. In a medium bowl, combine peach slices and blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, spices, flour, and cornstarch. Pour the sugar mixture over the fruit, and gently toss together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the lemon juice. Place bowl of fruit in the fridge to rest while you roll the crust out.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and place a baking sheet on the lower rack, just below where you’re going to place the pie. This will catch any pie drippings without making a mess of your oven.
- Remove one of the pie dough disks from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into about a 13-inch round. The dough may be a bit crumbly, so be sure to knead it well before rolling. Roll the dough a few strokes, then use your fingers to move the emerging circle around the floured surface. This ensures that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface. The circle won’t be perfect, that’s ok. Try not to get any tears in the rolled out dough, but if you do, they can be patched together with extra dough. Gently lift the 13-inch round from the floured surface and center in the 9-inch baking dish. Place in the fridge while you roll out the top crust.
- Roll out the top crust just as you did the bottom crust, moving the dough across the floured surface every once in a while, and creating a roughly 13-inch circle. Remove the bottom crust and fruit filling from the fridge. Gently pour the fruit filling into the pie dish. Carefully remove the top crust from the work surface and drape over the fruit in the pie dish. With a small knife, trim the crust, leaving about 3/4-inch overhang. With your fingers press the top and bottom crusts together and fold under. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges of the dough. Cut five small slits in the top of the crust so the juices and steam can vent. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
- Place pie in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 375 and bake for 45 more minutes. Remove from the oven when crust is browned and golden, and the juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours before serving. Place covered in the fridge to store. Pie lasts up to 3 or 4 days.
