# Pie Crust 911



## carlaird (Jan 16, 2007)

Making pumpkin pie with store bought crust
pie seperating from pie shell side and rim of crust 
(like a cake in an oven when its done)
What does this mean???


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

It means one of two things, or maybe both.

It could be:
1. That you have overbaked your pumpkin custard
and/or
2. That you do not have enough moisture and have too much protein (ie egg white) in your filling.

If you have blind baked your crust completely, it also could be leaching some of the moisture from your pie filling.


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## carlaird (Jan 16, 2007)

I think its overcooked
Blind Bake is baking prior to filling correct?
I Didnt do that. It was store bought (frozen)


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Yes, that's right.
Most pumpkin pie recipes call for you to pour the custard into an unbaked shell, bake at a higher heat for about 15 minutes, then lower the heat until baked through. I have found that baking the crust, lined with foil and pie weights, for about 20 minutes (at 350), then filling and baking the custard results in a better pie with a nice, firm and flakey crust with a creamy filling.
Don't bake the crust until completely done as it leaches moisture from the filling and causes the seperation. 
Just bake the filling until it's slightly puffed around the edges and soft, but set in the center-like the consistency of loose Jello-usually about 35-40 minutes at 350F. It will firm up when refrigerated.


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## carlaird (Jan 16, 2007)

THANK YOU 
I will try
Just bought pie weights!!


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## wizcat3 (Jun 4, 2003)

I cant tell you how many pies I bake for Thanksgiving in the Bakery. We dont have time to pre cook the shells. For a 9" Deep shell we just pour the custard into the shell and bake. ( at least 20 pies) at 350. We pull them out as soon as the KNIFE almost comes out clean. For Thanksgiving we prob do 60pumpkin Pies not including all the others. We prob have the worst oven (as all commercial ovens are) There great pies, tho. Know your oven.


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## wizcat3 (Jun 4, 2003)

I cant tell you how many pies I bake for Thanksgiving in the Bakery. We dont have time to pre cook the shells. For a 9" Deep shell we just pour the custard into the shell and bake. ( at least 20 pies) at 350. We pull them out as soon as the KNIFE almost comes out clean. For Thanksgiving we prob do 60pumpkin Pies not including all the others. We prob have the worst oven (as all commercial ovens are) There great pies, tho. Know your oven.


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## wizcat3 (Jun 4, 2003)

OOPs dont know what I did


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Sorry you felt that you had to _buy_ pie weights. I use old dry beans, cheap rice, and coffee beans that had a flavor I didn't like, or were stale. I just use some dry old thing that's been hanging around the pantry a bit too long. Used some old mung beans that I left too long before trying to sprout them too.

My pie weight mixture is a strange looking bag of stuff-Mom always flips out a bit when stumbling upon them in my kitchen.


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## harpua (May 4, 2005)

Yeah I wasted my money at Crate and Barrel on a sissy string of metal pie weights when I was a youngin. One of the worst purchases I've made.. it's awful! 

Dried beans for sure; and they do look funny because they are usually a mix, and have some old pie dough flakes in them, kind of oily, and old. I say it gives the pie some character


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## gunther_arneson (Oct 20, 2007)

Great advice on pie baking, Wizcat3.


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## phoenix 12 (Oct 13, 2007)

On the pie weight thing. Why not just get another pie plate of the same dia., and put that over the pie crust. That will keep it weighted down, and uniform.

Mike


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

That seems (to me) like a good, generalized rule, but wouldn't the baking time and temp of the crust depend at least somewhat on the nature of the crust?

shel


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Are you using frozen, pre-baked pie crusts or fresh made crusts?

shel


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

You are right, Shel, but those variations would only be affected if the crust was frozen or just chilled. It only takes an additional 5-7 minutes to par-bake a frozen crust compared to a chilled one. Whatever you choose, you do want the crust to be cold when it goes into the oven-less shrinkage that way and the crimping keeps its shape better.

I have had no success with the double pie pan technique. The top pan is usually not heavy enough to keep the crust from shrinking and changing shape. Additionally, the edge of the top pan crushes my pretty crimping around the edge. 

I always par- or blind-bake a single crust if the filling is loose and wet. A gummy bottom crust is gross. It's a small additional step, but it improves the quality of the overall product. In my time as pastry chef for Hyatt (we baked about 200 pumpkin pies per day!) we always par baked the crusts (did use the double pan method with premade crusts-about 10% loss). It made a huge difference in the quality and longevity of the resulting pie.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I took your tip a week or so back to par bake a pre-made crust - when I was making that quiche filling, if you recall. I tried the pie tin method and it didn't work well. It resulted in an uneven crust. The beans thing seems like the best and least expensive way to go. I could use beans and rice and make a "Carribbean" style pie weight.

shel


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## mrpastry (Nov 1, 2007)

I have always had good success with the double pan technique, but bake the shells upside down. The crust acts as its own weight - so to speak.
Of course as foodnfoto points out, this does put a cramp in your crimp  

I firmly believe any pie or tart employing a liquid custard based type filling should be par-baked first for best results and much better keeping qualities. Although, with a great pie - who can resist more than a day?


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