Five common pie crust fails … and what to do about them (2024)

FAQs

Why did my pie crust fail? ›

Any number of things can contribute to a slumping crust. Maybe your recipe uses an extra-high amount of shortening or butter, or you rolled the crust too vigorously, or you didn't let it rest and chill before baking. Perhaps you used the wrong size pan, or not enough filling.

The pie dough is overworked from excessive mixing or rolling. Whether you use a food processor, a stand mixer, or your hands to incorporate the ingredients together, overmixing is a common mistake that leads to a chewy crust.

In pie crust, you don't want gluten to form so you don't want to mix too much and overwork the dough. For a flaky crust, cut the butter so that chunks of butter about the size of walnut halves remain. The chunks of cold butter create the layers in the dough.

Your dough might be too dry or unevenly hydrated.

When dough doesn't have enough water, or if it's not properly hydrated (more on that below), it will feel and look dry and be prone to cracking.

Getting a brown, flaky/crispy bottom crust on your pie is all about quick and effective heat transfer. That's why aluminum or aluminum/steel pans — rather than glass or stoneware — are your best choice for baking pie. Metal, especially aluminum, transfers heat quickly and efficiently from oven to pie crust.

Adding too much water in the initial stage when you mix it with the butter and flour can mean that as the water evaporates in the oven, the structure of the pastry tightens up and shrinks, so be patient in the early stages and add the water gradually.

You might feel intimidated to make the pie crust yourself because of all the things that can go wrong, but you don't have to be. If your pie crust keeps falling apart, it is probably dry. To remedy this, add more cold water to the dough mixture in small amounts at a time.

Tough pie crusts are typically the result of working the dough too much (again, gluten). You don't need to make sure it's a perfectly uniform ball. “As long as the dough is mostly holding together, you don't need to spend a lot of time kneading it,” Susan Reid wrote for King Arthur Baking.

Once mixed, your dough should stick together when you pinch it between your fingers. If it doesn't, you need to add more moisture. Even if you think your pie dough resembles the Sahara desert, show some restraint when adding more water. A teaspoon at a time is all you need.

How do I keep my pie crust from getting soggy? ›

Brush the Bottom with Corn Syrup or Egg White

Adding a layer of corn syrup or a slightly beaten egg white before pouring in the filling will form a seal between the pie dough and the filling and will help make the crust crisp and flaky.

If your pie dough breaks and crumbles when you try to roll it out, it's probably too dry. This is a relatively easy fix. Just sprinkle some cold water over the dough with your fingers and work it in—gently! —until the dough comes together.

When you pull your pie shell from the oven and notice a crack, prepare a paste by mixing flour and water. Gently push the broken crust pieces together and use a spatula, the back of a spoon, or your fingertip to apply the paste to the crack.

Not only that, such doughs are thirsty as well, eager to absorb moisture from a pie filling, making the crust soggy and pale. When things heat up in the kitchen—say, anything above 73°F—the only viable solution is to focus on keeping the dough temperature below 70°F (21°C).

Additionally, overworking the dough with your hands can start to melt the butter, preventing that flaky texture from forming. Creating pea-sized bits of butter will also prevent the butter from pooling into greasy puddles as the pie bakes.