Baking Filled Pies

After you've made the dough for your pie crust and the filling for your pie, you're ready to make bake a hassle-free, professional-looking pie. If you haven't made your dough yet, read some tips on making pie crusts.

Filling your pie:

• Keep your bottom crust crisp by brushing it with egg white and chilling it about 20 min before filling. This seals it and prevents the juices' filling from seeping in and making the bottom soggy.
• You could also press a light layer of fine, dry breadcrumbs or cookie crumbs into the crust to absorb some of the juices and add texture.
• For fruit pies, heap on the filling and bake on a cookie sheet to catch any drips
• If you're topping your pie with meringue, make sure to spread it all the way to all the edges of the crust so it doesn't pull away and make big gaps while in the oven.

Special touches for two-crust pies:

• Make your bottom crust big enough to fold over on top of the top crust. Brush it with a little water or egg white to seal the two crusts together.
• Pinch the edges together with your fingers or with a fork for an easy and functional decoration.
• Always cut vents—simple slits are easy, but you can also cut in little shapes. Use a cookie cutter on the top crust before you put it in place. You can then attach the extra piece with water or egg white or just leave the decorative vent. Hearts, stars, leaves, apples, and flowers are great for different types of pies.
• Brush an unbeaten egg white or some milk over the top crust before baking to give your pie crust a glossy shine.
• Sprinkle the top with sugar or cinnamon sugar for added sparkle.

Baking your perfect pie:

• Bake your fruit pies in a glass baking dish to avoid the reaction between acid and metal that can discolor your pie. (Remember to lower your baking temperature by 25 degrees F when baking in a glass dish!)
• Bake your pie on a large metal baking sheet. This serves two purposes: It helps crisp the crust, and it saves you from messy clean up if your pie drips in the oven.
• Start baking your pie 10–15 degrees F higher than your recipe says. After a few minutes, lower the temperature to the regular temp for the rest of the time. This will cook your crust quickly and make it crisp.
• If the edges of your pie are browning very quickly, cover them with foil after the first 10 minutes or so of cooking. This will keep the edges from burning.