Make it Yourself...More Pie Crust Tips

 Here, from Myrna, the pie queen, are some more tricks to making pie crust. She says: I am reminded again, how many people consider making pie crust a hard thing to do. 

Ready to bake

  One of the questions I have been asked is what is blind baking a pie crust and why would you do it? Blind baking is just what is implies. You can’t see the crust when you are baking it because there is foil covering it. The reason you do it is to keep the crust flaky when is filled with a soft filling such as a custard type.

1.Carefully put the crust in the pie plate. Try not to stretch the crust.

Place in freezer for 30 minutes. This is important especially with butter crusts

To blind bake the crust. Line the crust with foil, fill with pie weights or beans or rice. (These can be saved and used over.)

Baked 15 minutes

In a 425 oven bake for 15 minutes for a pie that will bake for a longer time. 

For a pie that you are putting a cooked filling in or using a short baking time, remove the foil and weights and bake another 12 to 15 minutes until light golden brown.

Do not prick the crust if you are filling it with a soft or runny filling.

  Some other simple tips are:

1. For flaky butter crusts, be sure the butter is very cold so it doesn’t melt while rolling it

2. In very warm weather try chilling the bowl, shortening, even the flour. I store my shortening in the refrigerator so it is always cold. 

3. Just use enough water to hold the crust together. Use ice water. 

Disc before rolling

4. Take a few minutes before rolling the crust to make sure the edges are smooth. Makes for a nice edge that is not all broken and odd shaped when rolled out.

5. Always roll from the center out, not all the way across the crust.

6. Setting the pie to be baked on a preheated cookie sheet helps the bottom brown and keeps any spills from the bottom of your oven.