A Great Weekend for Baking

Well, at least the produce is still good, even though it's suddenly not very summer-y outside, nor does it feel like peach pie season. You're stuck inside this weekend--might as well bake. This is awesome! I made it this week. You can use a frozen crust, your own crust, or mine, which is great, a bit healthier and listed below. Enjoy!

Crunchy Top Peach Pie

A Moosewood recipe

This is the classic Moosewood Cookbook recipe. My own improvements in parentheses "health it up" without changing the flavor. You can do either.

6 cups sliced ripe peaches
¼ cup sugar (use 1/3 cup sucanat)
3 T fresh lemon juice
3 T flour (use arrowroot)
1 t cinnamon
A few dashes of nutmeg

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (use “My Pie Crust”)

Topping:
2 cups rolled oats (pulsed in a food processor a little)
¼ cup flour (ww pastry flour)
½ t salt
½ t cinnamon
½ cup minced almonds (use almond meal if you have it)
3 T brown sugar (use 4 T sucanat)
5 T melted butter

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Place peaches in a medium-sized bowl and sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice.
3) Combine 3 Tbs. flour and spices, and sprinkle this into the peaches. Mix gently but thoroughly. Spread this filling into the unbaked crust.
4) Combine topping ingredients in the same bowl (no need to wash it first), and mix well. Apply the topping evenly over the top, patting it firmly into place.
5) Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. , then turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes more. Serve warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream, or just plain.

My Pie Crust
Makes 1 crust, double recipe to make a top crust

2 cups barley flour (or 1 cup barley flour, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 ½ t sea salt
½ c canola oil or coconut oil

2-4 T ice water


In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour and sea salt. Add oil and coat the fat with flour, either with a pastry blender or your fingers.

With a rubber spatula, fold 2 Tbsp water in gently. Adding a Tbsp at a time until it comes together. Form into a ball very gently and wrap in plastic. Chill 30 minutes.

Roll out on floured board or between plastic wrap. Place in a 8-9 inch pie pan and crimp the edges neatly, if you like that sort of thing. Cover and chill 30 minutes more.

Crust is ready to be baked (350, 10-15 minutes?) or filled and then baked according to a recipe.