How To Make a Rustic Italian Peach Crostata
Freshly-picked, ripe summer peaches are the star of this delicious, sweet crostata.
Ingredients
For the Peach Filling:
- 5 - 6 large peaches either peeled or not, sliced into 1/2" slices
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Instant Clearjel or 2 Tbsp. corn starch
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 Tbsp. peach jam
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
For the Buttery Crostata Dough:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. buttermilk powder
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1-1/2 sticks of very cold frozen butter, sliced
- 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup ice water
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 Tbsp. water
- Coarse turbinado decorating sugar or regular sugar is fine too
- 2 Tbsp. butter cut into pieces (to place on top of the peaches before baking)
Instructions
Prepare the Crust First:
- In a large bowl for a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, buttermilk powder, and salt.
- Add the cold butter and pulse until the dough is crumbly.
- Mix in the lemon zest and apple cider vinegar.
- Sprinkle ice water over the mixture 1 Tbsp. at a time while and pulse to mix. After adding 3 Tablespoons of water, gather the dough and form a bowl. If the dough crumbles, add more water.
- Flatten into a disk shape, wrap in cling wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the Filling:
- Whisk together the sugar, ClearJel or corn starch, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, peach jam/preserves, vanilla extract, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Very gently mix in the peaches and set aside.
Prepare the Crust:
- After the dough has chilled, roll it out into a 12" circle on a well-floured board or cooking surface. Parchment paper under the dough is also very helpful.
- With a knife or pizza wheel, trim off the excess dough around the edges to make a nice circle.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and dust with a little bit of flour.
- With a huge spatula, very gently move the dough to the parchment-lined baking pan, being ever so careful not to tear the dough.
- Using a slotted spoon, fill in the center (only) of the dough with the peaches laid out in a decorative circular pattern. Do not use all of the juice, the crust will not bake through on the bottom and you'll have a soggy mess. Leave 1-1/2 to 2" of dough uncovered with peaches . . . you need this dough to fold over the peaches.
- Carefully fold the edges of the dough over the peaches, leaving a big hole in the middle. Don't cut any excess dough off, but rather fold the dough over and over.
- Place the pieces of cold butter on top of the peaches.
- Make the egg wash with the egg and water; brush all over the crostata. Generously sprinkle with coarse sugar. Blow a kiss to it!
- Bake the crostata for 20 minutes without any cover.
- After 20 minutes have passed, loosely cover the crostata with aluminum foil and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes (keep an eye on it though). This may seem like a large range, but every oven is different, so it is important to check on it until the crust is golden brown and the peaches are bubbling.
- Remove from the oven, place on a baking rack, and allow the crostata to set a bit for 20 minutes to allow the filling to set and thicken.
- While still warm, carefully brush the top of the peaches with some peach jam for a light glaze.
- Dust with powdered/confectioners sugar. Serve warm 'ala mode' with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Enjoy and Buon Apetito!!
Notes
- Apples work great with this crostata dough recipe.
- Any summer stone fruit such as plums, apricots, or nectarines work well in this recipe.