Just when my pie obsession was dying down, my friend came over with a jar of peaches. Clearly, more pie had to be made.
Funnily enough, I consider myself a baker (over a cook), but I am not a pie maker. I’ve made maybe three pies in my life and frankly the process doesn’t hold wild appeal to me—I’m not big on butter-greasy fingers or the waiting (so much waiting!) or rolling out dough. But during our stay in LA (where Erik and I and my favorite horde of cousins ate enormous pancakes, hiked in Malibu, visited the Getty and bummed around the beach), I developed a huge crush on the Angelica Kitchen cookbook.
My aunt, who recently went vegan-before-six, made several recipes from the organic vegan NYC-based restaurant that I went crazy for. Like, I was dying over carrot salad. And BBQ tempeh. And cashew pineapple coleslaw.
But back to pie: when peaches and a friend appeared in my kitchen, I was itching to try the book’s recipe for vegan pie crust–no butter-kneading or waiting necessary!
Although there were some nail-biting moments, it ultimately turned out a fabulously wheaty, not very sweet thick-crusted pie that was the perfect foil to an intensely sweet peach filling. Although Karen and I noted that we could detect the olive oil in the crust in the beginning, the flavor disappears under the peach filling and the more it cools, the fainter the aroma becomes. It’s not a traditional smooth-crusted, golden flaky pie crust, but it feels like a sincere, nicely rustic substantial pie that has character and rough edges and heft and just enough sweetness.
(psst. This is Karen. Isn’t she cute?!)
A few notes on this recipe:
- Olive oil: If you have some really authentic, deliciously grassy or fruity strong-tasting olive oil, this is not the time to use it. Use the most neutral-tasting olive oil you can find. Most of the flavor bakes out in the oven, but I was quite worried after tasting the raw dough.*
- Baking powder: The book notes that while baking powder is not a typical ingredient in pie crust, it’s essential to keep the crust flaky and tender.
- Mixing: For a flaky crust, it’s also important to not over-mix the dough. Be very spare in your mixing (but get everything evenly incorporated).
- Peach volume: We used a 32 oz. jar of peaches. Most store-bought canned peaches come in 29 oz. jars, which could work—you’ll just have less filling. I actually think this pie could have stood to have more filling, so I would recommend using one and a half cans of peaches if you go store-bought.
- Glazing the crust: For that nice shiny, sugar-crusted crust, the book used a barley malt/water mixture. I found this article really helpful for tips on other finishing touches, particularly if you are not vegan.
And lastly, I was tempted to just dump the peaches in the crust without bothering with the whole peach juice syrup-making process, but clearly I am a pie noob. This article convinced me otherwise. So fascinating. Did you know that a double crust pie needs more thickener than an open-faced pie? Or that you can use flour, cornstarch, tapioca, or PFE to thicken fruit pies?
Considering the runniness of some fruit fillings versus the perfectly gelled (but not too gelled!) of others was news to me. Essentially, the article says you should always follow a recipe as written when making a fruit pie (as long as you trust the source!). Hopefully, the recipe writer will have already found the optimal way to thicken the fruit filling.
While I can assure you that I’m no pie expert, I can assure you that this pie recipe does indeed work—and it’s, well, worth making. (!!!)
* I would not, however, substitute canola or vegetable oil after recently reading this article. Essentially, those oils are some of the most chemically altered foods in our diet! Save the pies!
Vegan Peach Pie
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup oat flour or same amount of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup buckwheat flour or same amount of all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- scant ½ teaspoon salt or ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ½ cup ice-cold water
- For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 32 oz. canned peaches**
- 1 cup juice from the canned peaches
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- Almond milk cream, or egg for finishing
- Turbinado sugar
- 10 ” pie plate or tart pan
Instructions
- Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the olive oil and stir until just combined. Add the water and stir just until a dough forms. If the dough is still stiff and shaggy, add more water a tablespoon at a time until it comes together.
- Form the dough into two equal balls. Place one ball of dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll out until it’s large enough to fit a 10” pie plate or tart pan. Trim the edges and reserve for making cookies later. Mine was on the thicker side—maybe between 1/4” and 1/2” thick. Place dough into pan and lightly press all over until it fits snugly.
- Drain the juice from the canned peaches into a measuring cup. If you don’t have 1 cup of liquid, then add enough water to make a full cup. Roughly chop the peaches into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large saucepan, combine the cornstarch, sugar and nutmeg. Gradually whisk in the peach liquid, and the lemon juice. Whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. Heat the mixture over a medium high flame, stirring very frequently—constantly if you have the patience. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for at least a minute, or until the mixture is very thick. Remove the pan from the heat and gently stir in the canned peaches.
- While peach filling cools, roll out the remaining ball of dough until it’s about the same thickness as the bottom crust and large enough to cover the top of the pie—this is your top crust. Pour the peach filling into the crust-lined pan, then top with the top crust. Fold over the edges and crimp it pretty, if you like.
- Brush the crust with a light coating of almond milk using a pastry brush (or your fingers if you don’t own a brush…ahem) and sprinkle an additional tablespoon or so of turbinado sugar over the top. Secret: I had a leftover part of a whisked egg and just used that as the finishing liquid. You could use nothing at all and just sprinkle sugar.
- Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes, or until crust is browned. (At this point, feel free to stamp out shapes from the reserved pie dough, sprinkle with sugar, and stick them in the oven on a separate cookie sheet to bake until golden.)
Lianna
hahaha I clicked on that women who laugh with salad link, wtf
this peach pie looks perfect! I used to think it was such a hassle to make vegan baked goods mostly because of some complicated sounding alternative ingredients, but this recipe looks pretty straightforward and maybe even simpler than most pie recipes!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
THIS PIE LOOKS AMAZING! I am in awe of this – I would have though vegan pie was impossible
erika
I thought so too! This is definitely different from regular pie, but still awesome.
Sabrina @ earlymorningoats
Wow you’ve got one hunk of a boyfriend! Pie is good, peach pie is great and a vegan peach pie is awesome! A vegan pie crust is hard to come by. This one looks promising 🙂
erika
Hahaha thanks Sabrina!! Erik was very pleased to hear that 🙂
Aubrey
I have never made a peach pie. I’ve made other vegan goodies, because what’s better than vegan? I do love some peaches and this dish looks just delightful!
erika
NOTHING! 🙂 Thanks so much, lady 🙂
Yvonne @ bitter baker
Yumyum!! Haha, love your peach pie models, great idea to bring some people into the shots – I gotta try that! (although I’m not sure I have very willing models around. perhaps my cat. or the dog.) Sure looks like a delicious pie!
erika
Bahaha animals are always cute!! I think you could do a lot with them 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
Maggie @ Sunnyside Up Smile
Erika you’re a genius! Oh my gosh how I love love love pie! I love it even more than oatmeal and pancakes combined- now that’s a lot! 🙂 Peach preserves/canned peaches sound so good right now- all juicy and sweet. My mouth is watering just thinking about them! Peaches have been super ripe and delicious lately. I seriously can’t wait to make this pie. I love that it’s vegan too! I’ll have to compare it to my Mom’s classic peach pie- she’s a pie goddess lol. I’m sure yours will stand the test! 😉
erika
Ugh, lately me too! If I could eat pie for breakfast all the time, I totally would. Haha I’m a little unsure whether this would stand up to your mom’s peach pie if she’s a pie goddess because I certainly am NOT. But so sweet of you to say so 🙂
Jess
I’m intrigued! I’m not much of a pie-maker either, but sometimes that’s an excuse to go with a non-classic recipe. This came out so pretty – both the filling and crust look fantastic!
erika
EXACTLY! And I was kind of self-conscious about this sorta-ugly pie, but thanks so much!! 🙂
janet @ the taste space
I am understanding more and more about Houston… the way to eat your peach pie is shirtless. 😉
(Looks great, btw! :))
erika
LOL this actually made me laugh. Out loud. You’re great! Thanks so much 🙂
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies
You know, I have never made a double-crust pie like this. I think I made an apple pie once and I’ve made pumpkin pie a lot, but I’m not much of a pie baker either. I might have to give this one a try though. I am all about peaches right now!
erika
Actually, I don’t think I have either! It’s just a lot of dough to deal with and usually I’m freaked out by the two sticks of butter that go into the crust. Not that 3/4 cup of olive oil is any better, but it seemed less bad at the time…anyhoo haha I hope you like it if you try it! I don’t want peach season to end!
Ashley
One of our neighbors brought us a peach pie this summer …. and ever since then I’ve been itching to try making one myself! Even though I’m normally not a big pie person! haha This one looks delicious!
erika
Right?? I’m not normally a big pie person either, but making this was kind of fun. Definitely a challenge. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Erica
HAHAHA I love how Erik is your “pie model.” My boyfriend Eddy prides himself as my food model…
erika
Baha boyfriends are just so good at that, aren’t they? (Modeling our food.) At least they get to eat it! Luckies 😉
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I am totally getting Angelica’s Cookbook when I get home!!! I know I’d love it. And this peach pie looks to die for! I’ve been wanting to try an olive oil pie crust, and this is the one I’m trying. Thanks so much for posting!!
erika
Oh yay!!! Let me know how you like it–I think you’ll love it too! I’m hoping to find a secondhand copy around somewhere because it’s so great! And I hope you like the crust. It was pretty good, in my humble opinion 🙂
Kristi @ My San Francisco Kitchen
I am terrible at making pies! Eeek. Yours came out beautiful!! Great job 🙂
erika
Aww thanks Kristi! It was actually pretty awful looking when I took it out of the oven, but I tried to just get the photogenic parts 🙂
yummychunklet
Thanks for sharing this vegan recipe! Bookmarked!
[email protected]
Wow that looks delicious! Is Erik your boyfriend?
erika
Haha yes he is!
Kenley Leigh
Erika,
This looks FANTASTIC!!! Yum, Yum! Oh…and arrowroot also works great as a thickener too. 🙂
Kenley
erika
Oh, good point! Do you know if arrowroot can be used in place of cornstarch in all cases? I’ve never tried it, but I keep meaning to since I hear it’s better for you than cornstarch. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Tahnycooks
I have six peaches on my counter right now! They are starting to look like pie! Great recipe!
erika
Thanks Tahny 🙂 I love it when my fruit starts to call out to be made into something delicious!