8 Tips for Making Perfect Pies

Tips to keep the pie dough from cracking:

• Make sure to add enough liquid to the dough. It should be just wet enough that you can work the dough into a ball with your hands. A few loose crumbs are okay, but all of the dry ingredients should be incorporated.
• Let dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to loosen up a bit for easy rolling.
• Repair any cracks with moist fingers to get dough to stick together, then sprinkle with flour and continue rolling.

How to keep pie dough from sticking to the counter as you roll it out:

• Use just enough liquid while making your dough to get it to come together. Add it in small amounts at a time to make sure you don’t add more liquid than you need.
• Add plenty of flour to your work surface, pie crust, and rolling pin while you are rolling out the dough. I like to keep a little bowl of flour handy on the table while I’m working.
• Lift and rotate the dough with your hands as you roll. (This is one of my favorite tricks!) I like to keep my dough moving so I can ensure there’s no sticking.
• Use a bench scraper to easily and gently loosen any dough that sticks.

2 ways to transfer rolled out pie dough:

• Place your rolling pin on top of your rolled out pie crust, near one of the edges. Use your hands to roll the dough up onto the rolling pin. Place the rolling pin at the edge of your pie dish and unroll.
• Fold the dough into quarters. Use both hands to transfer it to the pie dish and unfold.

Take these steps prevent pie crust from shrinking:

1. Freeze dough in the pie dish for 30 minutes.
2. Line the crust with greased foil pressed flat against the dough. Fill with pie weights, dried rice, or dried beans.
3. Bake for 30 minutes.
4. Lift foil and weights out of the pan and bake until the bottom of the crust appears set, about 5-10 minutes more.

For more instructions and photos, see my complete tutorial on how to blind bake a pie crust.

How to know when a pie is done:

• If you’re baking a fruit-filled pie like an apple pie, the pie is done when the filling bubbles. This indicates that the thickening agent (usually flour or cornstarch) has been activated and once cooled, your pie filling will set properly.
• Egg or custard-based pies like pumpkin or pecan pie are done when the edges of the pie appear fully set and the center barely jiggles when gently shaken. The center will become firm once the pie has cooled.
• Fully baked pies should also have a nice golden crust.

When the pie crust is browning too quickly, try this:

• If the whole top crust or topping is golden brown but the filling is not done, cover the whole pie with a sheet of foil and continue to bake.
• If just the edges of the pie are baking more quickly then the rest, cover just the edges. Fold a sheet of foil in quarters and cut out the center point so that when you unfold it, it makes a circular hole. Place on top of the pie so that the center of the pie is exposed through the hole but the edges are covered, and continue to bake. You can also use a pie crust shield.

Tips for keeping pie crust from getting soggy:

• Don’t fill pie crust and assemble the pie until you’re ready to bake. Make sure the oven is preheated and if you’re covering the pie with a second crust, have it rolled out and ready to go. This will reduce the chance of the liquid in the filling gumming up the crust under it.
• If baking a pie with a liquid filling, such as a pumpkin pie, it helps to blind bake the crust first before pouring in the liquid filling.
• Bake on the bottom rack in the oven, or move the pie down once the topping is golden.
• Use a pie dish that conducts heat well to promote even baking, such as a metal pie dish or ceramic pie dish.