Baking Pies 101

Thanksgiving is only 2 days away, and one of the most popular dishes on the table is pie. If you have never baked a pie before, the task can seem daunting. Even those of us who have made one (or attempted to make one) can find pie-making a challenging art to master. Here we offer some tips and tricks of the trade that will help you learn in no time.

1. When mixing the crust, make sure to use a pastry blender until the mixture looks like small peas, so the crust will be flaky (you want a buttery flaky crust, of course!).

2. Don’t add too much liquid (milk or water) to the flour and shortening mix or it will be hard to work with.

3. Make sure the liquid added to the mixture is cold.

4. For a tender crust, use the maximum amount of shortening your recipe calls for.

5. Did you know you can freeze both baked and unbaked pie crusts? Fresh fruit are the best fillings for freezing.

6. What’s the best way to freeze pies? For pies that have been cooked, cool the pie completely, wrap securely, and freeze. For uncooked pies, just don’t cut vents in the top crust, wrap securely, and freeze. When ready to bake, remove the pie from freezer, cut three slits, and bake the frozen pie in the oven at 400° for 30-35 minutes.

7. Your pie will be done cooking when the center bubbles. Bubbling is good!

8. If your pie crust gets too dark around the edge as it cooks, cover the pie with foil and turn down the oven to 325°.

Many of these tips are what we use in our restaurant to keep up with the demand for our pies.

Here are some step-by-step directions to guide you as you make your crust:

1. When mixing the flour and shortening, your dough should look like this. 

2. Add the liquid your recipe calls for and mix. For a true pie crust making experience, mix with your hands! The dough should stick together enough to form a soft ball. Make sure not to add too much liquid. If you do, add more flour to thicken it.

3. After kneading the dough (fold it and push it with your hands on a flat surface),  divide dough into two balls and roll out each to the size your recipe calls for.

4. Press the crust in the bottom of the pie plate. Flute the edge of the crust with your thumb and index finger.

5. When done, your crust should look something like this. Pour filling into bottom pie crust. If making a 2 crust pie, place the other half of the rolled dough over the top of the filling and press the edges into the bottom edge of the pie crust. Take off any extra dough. Flute edges again.

Buy our cookbook online here for Dysart's pie recipes & more! It makes a great holiday gift!