Perhaps inspired by the peaches from the Tomato and Peach Salad, my dad requested a peach pie for Fathers Day. Life’s been hectic recently so I jumped at the chance to relax and spend a day measuring flour, peeling peaches, and rolling out dough. I followed a recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.
I’ve never been afraid of baking, or in particular making pie crust; in fact I’ve always been quite good at it. As such, I entered into this with no trepidation or worry. I had my Pandora shuffling between my favorite stations and Gene Kelly was crooning as a soft, sunny, San Francisco day floated by outside.
What I liked about this recipe, and I suppose many pies are like this, was that I could do it in stages. I had a huge pot of water on to boil for peeling the peaches, and while waiting for that I measured out all the dry ingredients and got the butter cubed and into the freezer (tip!) to harden before adding it to the flour mixture.
The water now boiling, I could peel the peaches. I’d never done this before and for some reason had expected it to be difficult. But thanks to these simple instructions from KingArthurFlour.com, it was one of the easiest things ever. (Heed the warning about peeled peaches being slippery! I almost had a couple casualties).
With those done and in the fridge I could go back to the crust. I confidently got my butter out of the freezer, dumped the cubes into the flour and proceeded to coat them fully. But then I came to a recipe instruction I didn’t understand. “Dump dough mixture out onto a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll the butter into thin sheets, combining it with the flour.”
“Huh,” I thought, “I’ve never seen a pie crust recipe with this step…” But I forged ahead and tried to follow the instruction. Something wasn’t quite right though. I’d never made a pie crust like this before, so I just put everything back in the bowl and went ahead like normal.
Long story short, the pie went in the oven and not five minutes later, butter was leaking out of the sides! Apparently the crust was a different kind, similar to filo dough, in how you make it.
While the oven got a little messy, the pie ended up tasting amazing. The dough was definitely a little too doughy and too thick, but in the grand scheme of things? Not a big deal.
I suppose I could have just as well taken from this experience the realization that I should pay more attention or follow the rules exactly. But with all I have going on right now, it feels more appropriate to take away the fact that if you mess up, it can still work out. And, a pie in the oven with (gasp!) a little butter leaking out is NOT a horrible situation. People at war or living without a roof over their heads is a horrible situation. This was simply not something to worry about.
And so, in the midst of feeling low and sorry for myself, a humble, leaky, peach pie taught me the value of perspective. Simple, perhaps, but an important thing to remember.
Eat Well, Travel Well ~ Samantha