I have been baking pies for 20 years both at home and on my boat and I have always used a tempered glass pan, which I place onto the centre racks of my ovens. I have never experienced a soggy bottomed pie crust or glass shattering and my crusts are browned on the bottom. I don't precook my apple filling. This is what I do: I put my sugars and spices in a bowl first, give them a stir, then I slice my apples into that bowl along with a squeeze of lemon juice after each addition. The apples will have released liquid when I am done so I look at how juicy they are as that can vary and I add finely ground tapioca (or you can use cornstarch or flour) to the bowl (usually about a Tablespoon and a half depending upon how much liquid is there) and then I take a slotted spoon and I spoon my apple filling into my bottom crust. (You can brush an egg wash on first if you like and that can also help, but I don't find I need to do that.) Spooning the filling in using a slotted spoon allows me to control the amount of liquids in my pie crust. You want a little of that thick spicy liquid, but not a lot. Once I pile the apple filling in, I dot it with butter, top with pie crust, crimp or fold the edges under, decorate and then I refrigerate the pie while my oven is preheating. Having the pie dough cold helps to keep decorative shapes beautiful once the pie hits the oven's heat and it also keeps the fats cold, which is a good thing. I place my glass pan on a thin metal pan to catch any drips (and there usually are some) and I bake the pie on the centre rack at 400 F for 10 minutes and then 350 F for about 50 minutes or until the top is bubbling. If I see some drips on the pan I know it's done, but I can also look at the bottom. Glass takes longer to heat up, but it's a lovely even heat. Once the pie is done, I leave it to cool. Never slice into a hot fruit pie right away because the filling needs to set. @michelleboatbaker
November 5, 2020 at 10:07am
I have been baking pies for 20 years both at home and on my boat and I have always used a tempered glass pan, which I place onto the centre racks of my ovens. I have never experienced a soggy bottomed pie crust or glass shattering and my crusts are browned on the bottom. I don't precook my apple filling. This is what I do: I put my sugars and spices in a bowl first, give them a stir, then I slice my apples into that bowl along with a squeeze of lemon juice after each addition. The apples will have released liquid when I am done so I look at how juicy they are as that can vary and I add finely ground tapioca (or you can use cornstarch or flour) to the bowl (usually about a Tablespoon and a half depending upon how much liquid is there) and then I take a slotted spoon and I spoon my apple filling into my bottom crust. (You can brush an egg wash on first if you like and that can also help, but I don't find I need to do that.) Spooning the filling in using a slotted spoon allows me to control the amount of liquids in my pie crust. You want a little of that thick spicy liquid, but not a lot. Once I pile the apple filling in, I dot it with butter, top with pie crust, crimp or fold the edges under, decorate and then I refrigerate the pie while my oven is preheating. Having the pie dough cold helps to keep decorative shapes beautiful once the pie hits the oven's heat and it also keeps the fats cold, which is a good thing. I place my glass pan on a thin metal pan to catch any drips (and there usually are some) and I bake the pie on the centre rack at 400 F for 10 minutes and then 350 F for about 50 minutes or until the top is bubbling. If I see some drips on the pan I know it's done, but I can also look at the bottom. Glass takes longer to heat up, but it's a lovely even heat. Once the pie is done, I leave it to cool. Never slice into a hot fruit pie right away because the filling needs to set. @michelleboatbaker