You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (2024)

In this world, there exists such a thing asperfect bakers. You know, people whose desserts always look like they were sent to hair and makeup on their way to the table. People who never, ever panic when theirSwiss Buttercreamseems to turn into a curdled mess. People who just "whip up" some cinnamon rollson a weekend morning.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (1)

I covet the ease and confidence that these people possess. Though I am an experienced baker, I still get a wee bit intimidated when making certain things:scones, sourdough bread, anything that moms specialize in.

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And pie—especially pie crust.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (2)

I have become semi-comfortable making pie crust by following the two golden rules:use cold ingredients and don't overwork the dough. If I'm extraworried about impressing people, I'll blend the butter and flourin the food processor. Otherwise I just snap the butter in with my fingers because I like the feel of it, working quickly, hardly breathing until the ice water is added and the disk of dough is chilling in the fridge. Then I roll it out just as quickly, sending a little prayer up to the butter and flour gods while I work.

My pies usuallyturns out perfectly okay. Sometimes they turnout excellent. Sometimes not. I make pie an awful lot (birthdays, holidays, Sundays, thank-you-for-fixing-my-oven-days), and there have been many struggles and failures, typically regarding the crust. Maybe it was too crumbly, too sticky, or too dry. Maybe this has happened to you, too. And through trial (many trials) and error (many errors), as well as a healthy dose of internet research, I have found some tricks to help fix pie crust woes, both before and after they're in the oven. And I transfer my wisdomto you.

Here's how to fix your pie crust problems if...

  1. Your dough is too crumbly.
  2. Your dough breaks when you press it in the pan.
  3. Your crust shrinks when it bakes.
  4. Your crust is pale and underbaked.
  5. Your crust is too tough.
  6. Your (pie's) bottom is soggy.
  7. Your pecan pie's pecans have gone soft.
  8. Your pumpkin pie is cracked.
  9. Your fruit filling is too liquid-y.
  10. Your crust is a total failure.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (3)

Your dough is too crumbly.

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 sprinklesome cold water over the dough with your fingers and work it in—gently!—until the dough comes together. If your dough gets too warm, send it back into the fridge to chill out. When you take it back out, it should roll more easily.

Your dough breaks when you press it in the pan.

First of all, did you transfer the pie crust to the pan using the rolling pin method? To do this, put your rolling pin slightly to one side rolled-out dough circle, then fold the dough over onto it. Lift the pin and carefully move the hanging dough over to the pie pan. Lay the rolling pin in the middle of the pan and unfold the dough, then press it in. It's so much easier than attempting to pick it up with your hands, which will only result in pain and disappointment.

Whether you used the rolling pin method or not, a broken dough needs fixin'. The good news is you can camouflage tears relatively easily.After you've molded your crust into the pie pan, use the scraps you pinched off of the edges to patch up any cracks, smoothing the seams with your fingers. If the tears are on the top crust or the edges,sprinkle on a little bit of sugar to camouflage any imperfections. Press it lightly onto the crust and bake.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (4)

Your crust shrinks when it bakes.

If you pull a pie out of the oven and the crust has shrunk and hunched onto itself, it's a sign that you didn't let it rest before baking. Letting the dough rest is key because it allows the gluten to relaxso that it doesn't seize up and retract on you later. This is why most pie experts will advise you to not only let your pie dough chill before rolling it outbut to let it chill in the fridge for 15 minutes or so before baking, too.

You can't fix a shrunken crust after the fact, but you can definitely camouflage it with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon or chocolate shavings. Or just serve the pie already sliced and plated, so your guests can't see how much it shrunk in the pan. No big.

Your crust is pale and underbaked.

Easy! Just bake it some more. To ensure a bronzed, shiny crust, I like to give the pie a quick brush with eggwash before sending it back into the oven.Make sure your oven is hot enough:425° F or 450° F is ideal. Just set a timer first so that you don't end up with a burnt pie.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (5)

Your crust is too tough.

If your pie crust is tough instead of tender and flaky, you probably either overworked the dough or added too much water to it. There's not much to do in this situation but plate up a slice and throw on a scoop of ice cream. Don't sweat it: You'll do better next time.

Your (pie's) bottom is soggy.

There are a couple reasons you might have been a victim of S.B.S. (Soggy Bottom Syndrome).Maybe you needed topar-bake your crust.Maybe your filling was too liquidy. Maybe youwere watching "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?"while baking.

This is a tricky problem to fix, but hope is not lost.If it's a fruit pie, try putting it back in the oven for a few minutes on the very bottom rack, thus putting the underbaked bottom closer to the heat source. If it's a custard pie, don't try to re-bake it; you risk compromising your lovely filling. Instead, scoop the insides into a glass serving dish and top with cookies or whipped cream. Looks, it's a trifle! That's totally what you intended all along, right?

In the future, there are a few ways to avoid S.B.S.:

  1. It's helpful to bake your pie in a glass-bottom dish so that you can see when the bottom is bronzed to your liking.
  2. Always par-bake the crust if the recipe calls for it.
  3. If your fruit filling seems extra wet, drain off a little bit of liquid before adding it to the pan.

If you're extra worried about soggy crusts (maybe you've had some bad experiences in the past), you can sprinkle flour on the crust before adding the filling, or even brush the dough with a beaten egg.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (6)

Your pecan pie's pecans have gone soft.

Whole pecans can cost an arm and a leg (unless you have a pecan tree in your yard!), so it's a real bummer when they turn mushy and soft in your pie.To avoid this, toast your pecans before adding them to the syrupy, sticky filling. Not only will it fortify them against sogginess, it will also bring out their lovely, nutty flavor.

More: Vegan pecan piesdeserve toasted nuts, too.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (7)

Your pumpkin pieis cracked.

Oops! You baked it too long. It's best to take pumpkin pie(and sweet potato pie, and cheesecake pie) out of the oven whenjustshy of completely set. About five minutes before the prescribed baking time is up, gently jiggle your pie. When the only part that moves is a 1-inch circle in the middle, it's ready. The residual heat of the pie will carry it through.

Now you know better for next time. If you're worried about being judged for your cracked pie facade, you can camouflage it easily. Top your pie with crumbled ginger cookies, cover it with a facemask of whipped creamand a sprinkle of cinnamon, or layer on some softened apples.You just made your pie evenbetter.

Your fruit filling is too liquid-y.

First question: Did you let your pie set at least thirty minutes before cutting into it? You need to give the filling a little bit of time to settle in before slicing,or all of the fruit's juices will runneth free. If you did wait and your filling is still too liquidy, then, unfortunately, there's not much to do to fix it.Pie shake time!

In the future, if you fear your fruit filling will end up a little wet (this is especially common with juicier fruits, like berries, especiallyif they are frozen), add a tablespoon of cornstarch before baking to thicken things up. Heads up: Adding cornstarch will make the filling a little bit cloudy. If this concerns you, invest in some tapioca starch instead, which dissolves clear.

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (8)

If all else fails and your pie crust is an utter disappointment.

If your pie is fruit-filled, you can always scrape the filling into a baking dish, top it with a quick buttery crumblemade with whatever's in your fridge, and bake it until it's bubbly. Or make a speedy press-in olive oil crust, which never fails you. Or just cover the whole thing with so much whipped cream and ice cream that no one notices. Or just pour more wine.

After all, it's just pie.

Do you have more pie problems? Shout 'em out in the comments -- we'll put our heads together and see if we can come up with a solution!

You Messed Up Your Pie Crust: Don't Fret, Just Fix It (2024)

FAQs

What is the pie crust promise quote? ›

Easily. made, easily broken."

How do you fix a pie crust that keeps falling apart? ›

If it's too crumbly, add a little more water. Once your pastry has come together, don't then ruin it when rolling it out. It's always tempting to shovel loads of flour onto a work surface when rolling out pastry.

How to fix broken pie crust? ›

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.

What's a pie crust promise? ›

In Disney's "Mary Poppins", the titular character discusses that a certain promise made is a pie crust promise. "Easily made, easily broken." New Year's Resolutions are like that.

What is an inspiring quote about pie? ›

"We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie." "He was as normal as pumpkin pie and now look at him." "A boy doesn't have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn't like pie when he sees there isn't enough to go around."

Can you put a pie back in the oven after cooling? ›

It's also important to let the pie cool for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving. Solution if it's too late: If the pie hasn't been out of the oven for too long, you can put it back in the oven. Cover the pie with foil and bake it at 425°F, checking after 15 minutes.

How to fix dough that breaks apart? ›

If tearing is a frequent problem, Chef Felice suggests : Add a bit of extra-virgin olive oil to the dough to make it more elastic.

How to get pie crust to brown on the bottom? ›

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.

How to keep pie crust crispy overnight? ›

1. Blind Bake. The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.

What happens if you add too much water to pie dough? ›

2: Your Pie Dough Is Too Sticky. A perfect pie dough walks a fine line between dry and moist. If you're rolling it out and it's sticking to your rolling pin, your dough has too much moisture.

Who said promises are like pie crusts? ›

Irish writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, however, popularized the expression in his 1738 book, Polite Conversation, and thus is often attributed with being the author of it: Lady Smart: Ay, thou has a head and so has a pin.

What is the Promises Like Pie-Crust paradox? ›

The title of the poem, Promises Like Pie-Crust, has a negative feel to it because it is insinuating that promises may break as easily as the crust on a newly baked pie.

What is the poem "Promises Like pie-Crust" about? ›

"Promises like Piecrust" by Christina Rossetti relates a narrative between a speaker and beloved in regards to the other's romantic attraction towards the speaker.

What is the most famous line from American pie? ›

1. "You realise we're all going to go to college as virgins.

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