Top 10 Pie Baking Tips

How to bake a double-crust fruit pie perfectly!

By: Jodie Shield, RDN

Baking a homemade pie is simple and a great way to enjoy the season’s freshest berries, apples, and farmer’s market bounty. Here are some award-winning tips I have collected over the years from various state fairs and my go-to resource the Joy of Cooking.  I use them whenever I bake a blueberry pie, apple pie, or peach pie – yum!

1.  Start with 5 level (not heaping) cups of fruit.  Although tempting, adding too much fruit will cause juice to gush from the pie while it bakes.
2.  For the filling, adjust the added sugar up or down based on the sweetness of the fruit or skip it if you like tart pies.
3.  Adding flour to the fruit filling helps thicken the juice as it bakes and makes for easier slicing. Other popular thickeners include quick-cooking tapioca and cornstarch.
4.  Glass pie pans seem to produce an especially crisp and brown bottom crust, but really any 9-inch pie pan will work.
5.  Brush the overhanging edges of the bottom pie crust with water and place the top curst over the pie. To seal, pinch the edges of both crusts together with your fingers or a fork.
6.  Use a sharp knife and cut three or four 2-inch slashes in the top crust to allow steam to escape during baking.
7.  Bake fruit pies as soon as they’re filled or the bottom crust may soften and get soggy.
8.  Thoroughly preheat the oven and place the pie on the lowest oven rack. This will help brown and crisp the bottom crust and prevent the top curst from becoming too dark.
9.  Layering a sheet of foil loosely over the top curst helps prevent the pie from browning too quickly before it’s fully baked.
10. A pie is done when the top has turned a deep, rich chestnut-brown color and thick juices bubble through the steam vents.