Pie in the Sky: The Ultimate Pie Page

A delicious pie is a great dessert to enjoy at a large family gathering or at an intimate party for two. A few pie preparation tips can be the difference between a good pie and a scrumptious one.

Pie Baking Tips

• The use of a glass pie plate will give your pie a flaky crust. A pan that is metal will reflect the heat in the oven and may create a soggy pie crust.
• In order to avoid shrinkage of your pie crust as it bakes, flatten the pastry with the rolling pin so that it extends two inches past the outline of your pie plate. As you lay the rolled pastry in the pie pan, firmly press it flat beginning in its center and working your way outward. Then, secure the dough along the plate's edges. Finally, cut off one inch of the excess pastry that lops over the edge of the pie plate and fold the rest under.
• To prevent the edge of your pie from becoming too brown while baking, cover it with a three inch wide piece of aluminum foil. Then, remove it while the pie still has fifteen minutes left in the oven.
• A pie shell sometimes puffs out in places as it bakes. To avoid this, use a fork to make little holes in the shell before placing the pie in the oven. The air will have a place to escape through these holes.
• If you have a baked pie in the freezer that you want to serve take it out and thaw it at room temperature for one hour. Then, bake it in the oven for forty minutes at about 325 degrees.
• A soggy pie crust can be avoided by spreading melted butter on the pastry at the bottom of the pie pan. In addition, fill in any tears in the pie pastry before baking as a way to prevent the filling from finding its way underneath the crust.
• In order to bake the bottom and the top of a pie evenly, bake it on the lower rack of your oven.
• One of the best fruit pie baking tips is to preheat your oven to 400 degrees and bake your pie for twenty minutes. Then, lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and leave the pie in for twenty-five more minutes.
• When you are ready to cool your baked pie, put it one a cooling rack so that air can circulate all around it. This will help the pie crust to stay firm.
• A soggy fruit pie crust can be avoided by smoothing a thin layer of sugar and flour inside the empty pie shell before baking.

The Perfect Pie Crust

There are a few general steps to follow when preparing a perfect pie crust. First, mix the ingredients of the particular crust you are making in a bowl. The basic ingredients of a pie crust are flour, salt, lard or fat and water. After mixing your ingredients, fashion the dough into a ball and place it in the refrigerator for about twenty minutes to a half hour. The coldness of the dough will help to make it more manageable to work with. Next, roll the dough on a flat surface that is sprinkled with flour so it won't stick. Flatten the dough into a slab that exceeds the edge of the pie pan by two inches. Then, press the dough into the pan working your fingers from the center of the pan outward. Make some holes in the pastry with a fork so it doesn't collect air and puff up in the oven. Finally, with scissors cut only one inch of the pastry that is left hanging over the pie plate's edge and fold the rest underneath.

• Helpful Suggestions for a Perfect Pie Crust: Step by step instructions on how to make a delicious pie crust accompanied by other helpful ideas for pie baking.
• Steps to a Delicious Pie Crust: Features illustrations and concise directions for preparing a pie crust that your guests will love.

Delicious Pie Recipes

• A Selection of Great Pie Recipes: Choose from pages of recipes that include pecan pie, pineapple coconut chess pie and pumpkin chess pie.
• Pie Recipes from Slippery Rock University: An amazing collection of pie and crust recipes for your perfect pie.
• A Pie Recipe for Chocolate Lovers: A recipe for chocolate banana cream pie that is easily prepared in very little time.
• Joy of Baking: Great recipes for pies and tarts, including pecan pie and key lime pie.
• Favorite Pie Recipes: A collection of interesting crust and pie recipes.
• Recipes for Pie Lovers: Recipes for all varieties of pie such as almond crunch blueberry pie, lemon chiffon pie, deep dish pumpkin pie and many more.
• Simple Recipe for Delicious Pie: An easy recipe for a no fuss fruit pie that can be prepared in thirty minutes.
• Classic Pie Recipes: A collection of pie recipes featuring caramel apple pie, Wisconsin cranberry apple pie and sour cream apple pie.
• Cherry Pie Delight: An enticing recipe for a cherry pie that contains easy-to-follow directions.

A pie prepared for dessert can boast anything from tangy fruit to rich chocolate or even ice cream. The tastes of almost any guest can be satisfied with a pie dessert. So, put aside your cookie recipes for a month or two and try an inventive pie recipe for dessert.