Peach Pie (Old-Fashioned Frozen)

This is an old-fashioned Peach Pie which uses several steps that are imperative to its success. Perhaps the most important is to freeze it. The secret that I found is don't wait to freeze that pie after it is done. When I need a pie, I takes it out of the freezer, remove the large Ziploc bag it's been in, and bake it right away. That is the second secret: Baking the pie from frozen. It makes your crust flaky and not soggy. Anything you thaw brings out the moisture; thawing the pie first brings that moisture into the crust.

Crust:
2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached, sifted
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
⅓ cup lard
⅓ cup shortening
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
3-4 Tbsp. water, ice

Filling:
2 lbs ripe peaches, each peeled, halved, pitted and cut into 8 wedges (907 g)
½ cup light brown sugar, packed (96 g)
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ cup granulated sugar (96 g)
3 Tbsp. instant tapioca, finely ground
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
1 large egg yolk

Garnish:
2 Tbsp. sanding sugar or coarse raw sugar, for sprinkling

For the Pie Crust:
Combine sifted flour, salt, shortening and lard into fine crumbs. Add white vinegar and then gradually add ice water until dough forms. Roll out two crusts.

For the Peach Filling:
In a large bowl, toss the peaches with the brown sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Let sit 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, ground tapioca, cinnamon and salt.

Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the peaches and toss to combine. The mixture may look dry at first; let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to allow the sugar and lemon juice to draw more of the juices out of the fruit, then give it another good tossing to mix well and moisten all of the sugar and tapioca granules.

Immediately put into jumbo storage bag and freeze.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Remove pie from the freezer and sprinkle the top with sugar. Do not let it thaw.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Bake for another hour.

When the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, remove to cool for 10 minutes, before slicing and serving.

Quick-Cooking Tapioca Notes:

Grind It Up:
We recommend pulverizing the tapioca granules with a spice grinder, noting that while failing to do so will still thicken your pie, it will leave visible gelatinous bits of tapioca floating throughout each slice. (Pro tip: Grind the entire contents of one box as soon as you get it home - the powder will keep just as well when stored in a zip-top bag in a dark cupboard.)

Make It Bubble:
Whisk the tapioca powder into any other dry ingredients the pie calls for (it can be substituted one-for-one for cornstarch), then toss with the fruit and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes so that the tapioca can start to absorb the fruit juices. When baking, make sure the pie filling is visibly bubbling in the center before pulling it out of the oven - that will ensure the thickener has been fully activated.

Wait It Out:
Once baked, it's important to let your pie rest overnight, allowing the starches within the pie time to re-bond, and letting the juices be reabsorbed. This is the hardest piece of advice to follow.