peach raspberry slab pie

includes a lattice tutorial (and my hot pie takes)

i feel like i’m shooting myself in the foot by saying this at the top of the recipe, but pies are not so easy to make. prepping all of the fruit, making filling from said prepared fruit, making the dough, rolling out the dough, decorating with the dough, and–on top of all that–the pie is constantly going in and out of the fridge and freezer, into one level of the oven, rotated, and placed on another.

but, this is also why making pie is hugely rewarding. by doing all of these steps, you become invested in the process. there are no loud mixers, no whipping, and no special equipment, it’s just you, the short list of ingredients, and a rolling pin. 

pie making also requires a level of attention and sensitivity for each component that i don’t always get to engage when baking. unlike baking a cake, you need to taste the filling as you make a pie, to make sure you have enough spice, acidity, and sugar to make the fruit sing. you use your hands when making a pie dough, which means you develop muscle memory as you gain experience, and you will start to know what the final product’s texture and taste will be just from touch. the same is not true for cakes, where even the smallest things (the temperature of your butter or eggs, how long ago you opened your leaveners, etc.) can completely change the final result without you knowing until the cake comes out of the oven.

because of all the work required in making fruit pies, there are only two i make annually: apple pie in the fall and a peach pie in the late summer. i honestly like the peach pie more than i like the apple pie. peaches hold their beautiful texture–always a bit firm in the center with a delicious slippery-ness on the outside–when baked, whereas apples can be too hard or turn to mush. usually, i make a plain peach pie, but i added a raspberry vanilla compote on top this time and did not regret it. the raspberries add welcomed flavor to the pie plus more tart and sweet components. (if you want to just make a peach slab pie, multiply all the quantities in the peach section x1.2). between all of the flavors and the flakey crust, i could easily eat many slices of this in one sitting. 

regardless of where you are in your pie-making journey, this is a truly fantastic pie. i encourage you to give it a try, even if you are new to pie-making. the fact that this is a slab pie means you need not fear a soggy bottom, one of the most common issues encountered when making a pie (and you don’t need a pie dish). a slab pie also provides a great crust-to-fruit ratio when the fruit is as flavorful as peaches and raspberries are. 

finally, this pie recipe includes a lot of notes, tricks, and video tutorials on making a diamond-shaped lattice, so this recipe could be great for learning. if you think this will be too much for you, the directions will still be useful in making a regular lattice. and if you don’t want to lattice, there is enough pie dough to make a traditional double-crust pie (follow the same directions but roll the dough out to a rectangle measuring 19”x14”). 

ps. if you want to make a smaller version of this, you can cut all of the quantities in the recipe in half and bake it in a quarter sheet tray.

pps. the greatness of this pie largely comes from delicious peaches, so make sure to use them when they are ripe!

ppps. i always recommend reading the entire recipe before starting, and you should certainly do that here as there are a lot of steps. i’d even re-read the lattice/rolling out the dough sections again before doing each of those steps.