Teaches of peaches

Again embracing the season I bought two boxes of swoon-inducingly ripe peaches and set my phasers on pie. I guess I've had a lot of practice but pie dough is really not all that intimidating, even a fancy-looking lattice top. It can even be prepared the night before to split up the work. Bake sure your butter and shortening are cold for better results.

Pie Dough for Lattice-Top Pie (you guessed it, Cook's Illustrated)

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp sugar
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 7 tbsp shortening, chilled (ex. Tenderflake, Crisco)
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 10 tbsp ice water

1. If you've got the set-up, make this in a food processor for best results. You can do just fine without one, I did. Mix flour, salt and sugar, add shortening and process/use pastry cutter until mixture has texture of coarse sand. Scatter butter over mixture and process/use pastry cutter until you get coarse crumbs, with butter pieces no larger than peas. Sprinkle ice water over mixture and use rubber spatula to fold, pressing down to help dough come together. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten larger piece into 5 inch square and smaller piece into 4 inch disk, wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour, up to 1 day.
2. When you're ready to go, roll larger piece into a 15 by 11 inch rectangle. Slide onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper and using a pizza wheel or knife cut 8 strips of dough, straight as you can. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Roll out smaller disk on lightly floured surface (we have this cool cloth with the diametre of a pie plate drawn on), and transfer to 9 inch pie plate. Leave the overhang alone and refrigerate.

6-7 medium sized peaches (about 7 cups when sliced)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch salt
3-5 tbsp potato starch or Minute tapioca

1. Heat oven to 500˚ and place rimmed baking sheet inside. Boil water in a large saucepan and fill a large bowl with ice water. Score an X on the bottom of the peaches, use slotted spoon to drop into boiling water for 1 minute, then into ice water for 1 minute to facilitate peeling (or leave skin on, up to you). Halve, pit and cut peaches into slices 3/8 inch thick.
2. Mix slices with lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and starch or tapioca (if using tapioca grind fine in food processor, spice grinder, or place in ziploc and bash with rolling pin/other similar object). Turn mixture into dough-lined pie plate and form the lattice. Here is a useful diagram if you've never made a lattice-top before. Lightly brush lattice-top with 1 tbsp water and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 425˚. Place pie on baking sheet and bake about 25 minutes, until crust is set and begins to brown. Rotate pie and reduce heat to 375˚, continue baking until peach juices are bubbling and crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack before serving.