Simple Tips to Keep Your Pie Crust From Burning

Making pies is a traditional American activity. There are few things more satisfying than a fresh, steaming pie cooling on the ledge. However, there is one aspect of baking that every baker dreads: the margins of the pie crust burning.

This is due to the fact that the corners of your pie are significantly less thick than the center. The core of the pie takes the longest to cook. The majority of the pie, including the filling, is placed here.

A poorly cooked filling might be devastating for your pie. If it is undercooked, the pie filling will become runny and soupy, rendering your pie absolutely unappealing and destroyed. As a result, the core of your pie must be properly baked.

And since the borders of your pie don’t have as much crust and filling as the center, it cooks at a much faster rate. This is what causes the pie’s ugly, charred edges, which may make even the most exquisite creations less palatable overall.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to guarantee that your ideal pie does not become a waste of time. Never again will a charred edge spoil your pie; instead, enjoy a picture-perfect pie every time.

Say No to Foil Along the Edges

When most people bake a pie, they hastily crumple up several pieces of aluminum foil over the edges. The idea is that it will cook the pie’s edges without making them crispy and charred.

However, the foil often falls off the edges, leaving you with a scorched, unpleasant pie crust. It does not necessarily imply that aluminum foil is not the best material for the purpose; rather, it is being utilized incorrectly.

There are various prefabricated shields available, but sometimes we don’t have everything we need for the ideal pie on hand and don’t want to rush to the grocery store to purchase it. The foil is entirely safe to use; it is simply that it is often used incorrectly, giving the impression that foil is a horrible tool for the task.

In reality, you can create your own pie shield out of aluminum foil, which will work just fine. It just takes a little time and some small modifications to get the sort of crust barrier that will prevent your pie from burning.

Creating Your Own Pie Crust Shield

To begin, rip a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the whole surface of your pie. Even better, you don’t need to purchase heavy-duty foil to achieve this (though having heavy-duty foil doesn’t hurt).

If you buy a big roll of aluminum foil, it will last you for many years of pies.

After ripping off your piece of aluminum foil, fold it in half and then in half again. This is the same technique you would use to make a paper snowflake.

The next step is to carve a curve all the way around the edge of your foil. This ensures that the circle you produce is big enough to go all the way around the exterior of the pie dish you are moving.

After cutting another curve approximately three inches or so within your original slice, you should end up with a huge ring. This is what your pie shield is made of, and it’s alright if your cuts don’t result in a perfect circle.

Another interesting fact that you may not have recognized is that the foil can really aid to sharpen your scissors. That will keep your scissors sharp while also providing you with the pie crust protection you need.

Using Your Homemade Pie Crust Shield

Now that you’ve prepared the pie crust shield, it’s time to put it to use. To keep the edges of your pie safe and secure, the shield must be fastened. Nobody wants to go to the effort of making a pie shield just to have incorrect positioning result in a charred pie crust.

When you’ve completed cutting out your pie crust shield from aluminum foil, it’s time to put it to use. Make sure to place the foil ring on the crust so that it outlines the edges of your pie.

After you’ve secured the pie crust shield, continue softly crimping the foil all the way around the edge of the pan. This is to ensure that it stays in place and protects the edges of your pie crust from possible scorching.

It is critical not to crimp your aluminum foil too tightly around the edges of your pie. This may not affect the overall cook time of your pie, but it will make the ornamental margins of your pie seem crushed and uneven. Avoid doing so whenever feasible.

There are two methods to include your pie crust shield into the baking process of your pie: put it on early or put it on late. Whatever way you chose for applying the pie crust protection, it will work well.

If you chose to use the pie crust shield at the start of the cooking process, crimp it completely around the edge of your pie as directed above. Remove your shield when there are around 20 minutes remaining in the baking time.

Of course, there’s the procedure of placing it on when your pie is almost done baking. Pull the pie out and crimp the pie crust cover over the sides when you believe it’s close to becoming crispy golden.

The foil will keep the sides of your pie from overbaking since the middle of your pie requires extra cooking time. This will retain your edges golden brown rather than scorching them to a crisp and destroying the whole pie.

Let Your Pie Properly Cool

What happens when you take a pie out of the oven is one of the most crucial aspects of baking a pie, especially one with fruit in it. It is critical to allow your pie to cool completely before slicing it.

This may seem to be an unjust sort of suffering since you spent all that time cooking this delicious dish and now have to wait to enjoy it. But there is a reason to wait for it to cool.

Because the majority of pies are fruit pies, they have a greater sugar content. They have a higher cook temperature, which is why the centre of the pie takes longer to cook. Because of the sweet core, we must let it to cool.

If you cut into your pie immediately away, it will not have time to firm up. This implies that your pie will be virtually liquid syrup, and it will pour out of it. That leaves you with a crumpled pie shell and a filling that requires a spoon to devour like a sweet soup.

By resting the pie, you allow the starches in the filling time to solidify. The filling becomes gelatinous as it sets, giving it that malleable feel that keeps everything in place. That is what results in a clean, tasty piece of pie with no mess.

It may take some time for your pie to cool completely, but you will be glad you waited. Allowing your pie to cool and set up results in a hard, tasty pie that melts in your mouth rather than all over the pie plate.

Baking the ideal pie may seem to be a difficult task, but there are easy measures to take. It is critical to keep the edges of your pie clean so that the burned flavor does not affect the remainder of the crust.

At the same time, patience is required in order for the pie to set correctly. However, if you follow these instructions, you will end up with a properly cooked pie that is ready for everyone to enjoy. If you miss a step or two, you’ll end up with a less-than-perfect confectionary delight that requires more comprehension than anything else. It’s worth to check How to Make a Flaky Pie Crust (6 Easy Rules to Follow)