10 Tips for Making Great Pie

First, let me say that pie is one of my favorite things to make. But it took time to get comfortable with making pie crust and whenever I teach a pie-making class, I see the fear. But with these tips for making great pie, you’ll soon be feeling like a pie pro.

1. When in doubt, chill. If there’s one sure way to improve your pie-making, it’s this. Use the coldest butter you can. You can even put your flour and mixing bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes before you start. Use ice water to blend. Once your dough is mixed, refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. Even after you fill your pie, you can put it back in the refrigerator for an hour to chill before baking. The more cold bits of butter you have in the crust, the steam they’ll create as they melt, which is what makes crust flaky. Cold also inhibits the development of gluten, the rubbery protein that makes bread springy but turns pie crust tough. If you’re pre-baking a crust for, say, pumpkin pie, chilling the crust before baking is essential to keep the dough from shrinking in the oven. 2. Go glass. Glass pie plates (such as Pyrex) are great. They heat evenly and slowly and are inexpensive and easy to find. 3. Butter is best. It simply tastes better than shortening. My favorite crust recipe uses just flour, butter, water, sugar, and salt. No added vodka or vinegar or egg yolks or other ingredients (not that there’s anything wrong with them; I just don’t find them necessary). Some will say that shortening is easier to work with, but I find that this recipe has enough butter to make it quite workable. 4. Ditch the Food Processor. When I was working on my apple cookbook, I tried making crust in a dozen different ways. But nothing was better than using my hands and a bowl. Why? First, making crust by hand is the best way to develop a feel for it. A food processor puts a barrier between you and your ingredients. Second, cleanup is so much simpler. And third, I think your fingers can work the butter into the dough in a more controlled way than a spinning metal blade. To see this technique in action, take a look at my step-by-step guide, with handy visuals. 5. Aim for a marbled effect. When your dough is fully mixed, it should look marbled, with veins of pale butter running throughout. 6. Roll from the center, flour liberally. Once your dough is mixed and chilled, roll it out on a counter that has a nice thorough dusting of flour. Cold dough is stiff, so I give it a few whacks with my rolling pin to soften it a bit. Then I start rolling from the center in all directions, lifting and turning the dough often to prevent sticking. Don’t be afraid to sprinkle more flour as needed. This dough has enough butter to absorb it. 7. Precook your fruit for mile-high pies. It’s a small thing, but I always feel sad when I cut into a deep-dish apple pie and find a big gap between the filling and the top crust. To prevent this, pre-cook your apple filling in a large pot until softened, about 10 minutes, then cool before pouring it into the crust. 8. Insulate the bottom. I haven’t practiced this advice myself, but if you’re picky about a crisp bottom crust, you can sprinkle the bottom dough with a bit of sugar and flour or graham cracker crumbs before you pour in your filling. That layer of moisture-absorbing material will keep the crust from getting soggy. 9. Tuck in the top crust. When making a double-crust pie, fold your bottom crust up and over the top crust, then crimp to seal. This will keep filling from leaking out. 10. Brush with an egg wash. One egg plus a tablespoon of water will do it. It makes your pie glossy and golden.   And if all of this still seems too intimidating, there’s no shame in a homemade graham cracker crust!