How Do I Make My Bottom Pie Crust Crispy?

There are several ways to prevent a soggy bottom crust in a pie. You can coat the bottom of the crust with corn syrup, or you can brush a lightly beaten egg white over the crust before adding the filling.

The type of pie dish you use can also make a difference in the crust’s crispness. Heavy pie tins, like those made of metal (especially aluminum), conduct heat quicker than lighter pans and tend to cook faster. Alternatively, you can opt for a glass pie dish, which heats up more evenly and allows you to see the crust’s progress in the oven.

Which rack you bake your pie on can also impact the crust’s crispness. Baking the pie on a lower rack concentrates the oven’s heat on the bottom of the pie, helping it cook faster and more evenly.

Another tip for preventing a soggy crust is to blind-bake your crust before adding the filling. This prevents the pie crust from becoming overly puffed and allows it to set before putting on the filling.

You can also use dry ingredients, such as breadcrumbs or cornflakes, to act as a barrier between the pie crust and the fruit. The dry ingredients will absorb any excess moisture before the pie has a chance to get soggy.

This is especially helpful when making double-crust fruit pies, as baker Dan Langan shares in his Food Network Kitchen class Cherry and Strawberry Lattice Pie. Before adding the dough, sprinkle a few teaspoons of dry wafer crumbs or other similar crumbs into the pie shell.

Then, blind-bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Once it’s blind-baked, add the fruit mixture and return to the oven for an additional few minutes to set the crust.

Keeping your crust from getting soggy can be tricky when you’re baking a pie with a soft and moist filling. There are many different tactics and methods that food manufacturers use to keep their pies fresh, but the best way to prevent a soggy crust is to prevent moisture migration in the first place.

One solution is to cut a few slits in the top of your pie crust before you pour in the fruit filling. The slits allow steam to escape and reduce the moisture in the filling, which will prevent it from soaking into your crust.

Another option is to put a sheet of foil around the edge of your pie to help slow down its browning. This will protect the filling from absorbing into the crust and will ensure that the bottom of your pie is crispy without letting it turn brown as quickly.

Then, when you remove your pie from the oven, pull it out of the tin and let it cool on the counter for about an hour before serving. This will allow the filling to set up and will also help the fillings stay juicy.