How to Make Pie Like a pro
You want to make a perfect pie for Thanksgiving. What’s the secret? We ask our in-house experts Cait Daniels and Gina Langley.
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What’s YOUR TOP TIP FOR BETTER PIES?
Buy fresh ingredients.
Don’t pull flour out of the back of pantry that you’ve had for months. Buy fresh flour, and fresh butter is also really important. Nuts and spices can easily go rancid or stale, and fresh spices are going to have more flavor. Visit your local farmers market for the freshest fruit you can find.
HOW TO GET A CRISP, DELICIOUS CRUST?
Keep pastry dough well chilled.
Generally cold pie dough bakes up better. If you let pie dough sit too long at room temperature, the butter starts to melt and you’re not going to get as crisp of a crust. So work quickly, and put it back in the fridge if it starts to warm up.
Use butter for best flavor.
Grand Central Bakery’s all-butter U-bake Pie Crust is a great option for home bakers who want to save time without skimping on quality. Move it from the freezer to the refrigerator for about 24 hours before using it.
Work quickly and dust hands with flour before crimping.
When you transfer the rolled out crust to the pie pan, press the dough into the edge of the pan along the bottom; you want a nice clean line along there so you’re crust doesn’t slide in. Roll the crust edge down and pinch it together to give it nice edge before you crimp. Crimp with your thumb or an index finger (whatever works for you). A uniform crimp is best, but if it’s not perfect that’s just fine, it will taste just the same.
Pre-bake or “blind bake” the crust before adding the filling. See our step-by-step instructions
Line the pie shell with a piece of crumpled baking parchment or foil, fill it with dried beans or pie weights, and bake until the crimped edge is golden and the bottom is just starting to color.
How can I keep the PUmPKIn FILLING from cracking?
Pumpkin pie filling is a custard, so you want to cook it at a low temperature for a longer period of time. Also it’s a good idea to bake it in the lower part of your oven on a sheet pan to catch any drips.
Don’t overbake it! The pie is done when the filling is partly set but still gives a good jiggle in the middle. It will set up completely as it cools. You want the crust to be golden, even a little reddish, and the filling just starting to caramelize on top.
If it cracks, remember it will still taste great. Cover any cracks with whipped cream!
See Cait and Gina’s video ON INSTAGRAM
Get Grand Central Bakery’s Pumpkin Pie recipe
INSTRUCTIONAL Videos
7-Minute Apple Pie
How to make a lattice crust
holidays at Grand Central: Pie Baking
For more baking tips and a full collection of Grand Central Bakery recipes, pick up a copy of The Grand Central Baking Book, available at all locations.
Need a baking assist? Purchase our frozen U-bake Doughs and Pie Crusts from any location.