pie crust query

[thifasmom]

i love to cook but i'm not a big dessert maker sort of person.

when making pies with berries or other soft fruits, do i need to bake the pie crust first?

or can the filling be poured into the crust lined dish without baking the crust first, would this make the bottom of the pie soggy?

[thifasmom]

[Duke Ellington]

My husband loves pies and had to learn to make them for him ::). He says its not a pie unless it has top and bottom pastry.
Yes the bottom is a little bit soggier* than the top but I have found that by using a metal pie tin and cold filling and then placing in a hot oven works well. The metal get hot and cooks the pastry. If I do a quiche I bake the pastry shell first(bake blind for about 10 mins) but then you are pouring in eggs and milk mixture on to the pastry.
There are tricks I have read about eg sprinkling the bottom of pastry with semolina before adding the fruit or brushing on egg white and letting it dry before adding the fruit but I have never fancied the idea of it.
Many of the usa cooking web sites have good tips on pie making.
Sorry I cant be of more help but it you find a solution that works let me know.

Duke :)

[Lizann]

No need to bake the pie crust first, I just line a dish with pastry, fill with fruit filling and then cover, bake and eat!

[thifasmom]

great so there is no need to bake it first, unless its a very wet filling.

i'll be using metal pie pans so i'm off to the supermarket to pick up a few more supplies and then its on to the baking.

thanks for tips both of you.

[saddad]

We bulk cook Apple Pies about now... cheap wilco's foil pie plates no pre cooking of the pastry.. works fine..  :)

[betula]

I am going to have a go at Dorset apple cake......yummy.

http://bakingforbritain.blogspot.com/2005/10/dorset-apple-cake.html

I just bake as normal and find it to be ok

[thifasmom]

We bulk cook Apple Pies about now... cheap wilco's foil pie plates no pre cooking of the pastry.. works fine..  :)

yep thats the sort i'm using only problem is i have no freezer space at the moment :-\.

might have to ask my neighbour to loan me some space in her chest freezer and pay her with a pie :).

[saddad]

We do about 40... takes out two drawers...  :)

[Borlotti]

Do you make the pastry or buy frozen, I buy frozen as my pastry is not too good, mother taught me but hers was good mine all grey and soggy.  I have got loads of Bramley apples I picked as the birds (I assume) had eaten half of them.  Good idea with the foil plates.

[thifasmom]

i'll be making mine found some simple recipes online very late last night so i'll try those.

[1066]

I tend to blind bake but that's probably because that's the way my mum taught me. I now tend to buy the frozen pastry as I'm not great at pastry making. My granny was the best, the pastry was just so light, and at Sunday lunch there would always be 2 fruit pies on the table  :-X

thanks for the link to the apple cake betula, now saved into my favourites  :)

[PurpleHeather]

I use a food processor for pastry (basic short crust)

8 oz plain white flour
3 oz lard rock hard from the fridge cut into chunks.

wizz together for a minute and add 5 fluid oz of water through the hole in the top of the lid slowly

The lot should come out of as a solid lump of pastry.

Then put it into a plastic bag in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Yes you can swap the lard for white vegetarian.
Or stork or butter  but lard does make the better pastry.

To get a good mix for fruit pies I mix cornflower and sugar with water to get a thick syrup then stir in the fruit whilst the syrup is hot. Dont cook it Let it cool and add it to the pie as a filling when cold

Wet the pie lid with water and sprinkle on sugar before baking to give a crunchy topping.

One favourite of the family is what I call a crumble pie.  I do the pastry base unbaked add the fruit to half way then the rest fill up with crumble mix and bake, it takes the same time as a pie to cook.

I always use block butter for a crumble because it does make a lot of difference to the flavour but the cheapest butter will do just as well.

It is a simple mix of
8 oz SR flour
4 oz butter
4 oz sugar.

Blitzed in the processer until it looks like bread crumbs. I keep some in a plastic bag in the fridge and when a bit of fruit turns up the fruit just needs to go into an oven proof dish with some sugar and the crumble thrown on top and baked.

[betula]

I am going to have a go at Dorset apple cake......yummy.

http://bakingforbritain.blogspot.com/2005/10/dorset-apple-cake.html

I just bake as normal and find it to be ok

I posted this in 2009.......still good  :)

[betula]

oooooooops wrong thread   ;D

[PurpleHeather]

I actually found out by accident that to get a crispy fruit pie is to double bake it.

I baked a pie for a friend for her 'dinner party' I thought she was serving it cold but she put it in the oven to re-heat it and told me it was delicious and a great success.

So I rebaked one myself to test it  and yup it worked out better.

[kt.]

I always use block butter for a crumble because it does make a lot of difference to the flavour but the cheapest butter will do just as well.

It is a simple mix of
8 oz SR flour
4 oz butter
4 oz sugar.

Blitzed in the processor until it looks like bread crumbs.

Just logged the crumble recipe. ;)  Always just used shop packet stuff before. I have always kneaded pastry, never thought of doing it in a food processor.  Will do next time.

[pumkinlover]

Sorry to be a bit thick but what do you mean by this. We have lurpack which is in a block for general use  and I use that for crumble.
My "pastry chef" (AKA OH!!!) uses Trex -he makes far better pastry than me-must be the cold hands (and feet!!!)
By "cheapest butter" do you mean it is a blend with margerine???

This site is a mine of Usefull information-so many knowledgeable people :) :) and so willing to pass it on :)

[antipodes]

Actually my husband made both of us better pastry cooks! he makes his pastry really quite dry, then sprinkles flour on it and leaves it in the fridge till ready to roll and bake. It is always light and flaky and crisp.
Neither of us touch the dough with our hands, except for a quick squeeze at the last minute to make it all adhere together - we mix the dough with a butter knife.
I only ever use margarine for pastry and cakes, I find it gives it the best texture, but my mum used to use lard, and people liked her pies ;)

For the reply just above, I think in some places you can get butter in a tub! which is probably cheaper than block butter!

[pumkinlover]

I think something went wrong with reply 16!!!
My comment looked like a quote and the quote  looked like my reply-no doubt it was me as I've had that sort of day! ;)