Apple pie without a soggy bottom crust?

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suziquzie

Chef Extraordinaire
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How do you do it?
My top crust is perfect. Flaky, yummy.
My filling is homemade- not the canned stuff.
The last few have left me with a pretty wet bottom. :ermm:
Not inedible but I'd really like it not to be that way!
Help?
 
um... not an expert... haven't tried this... but could you bake the bottom crust for a few minutes before adding the pie filling?

( I DON'T do crusts so I have NO clue)
 
I thought about it..... but I dont want to try it because I dont have time to screw one up!
 
Hi, I saw this episode on Food Network and had to go and bookmark the recipe. Alton Brown explained step by step on how to make a perfect apple pie.

His pie looked out of this world. I have not made it yet but am planning to make it soon. He used a pie birdy (a little device that you stick in the middle of the pie to release the steam (that's the catch). I am assuming a deep straight puncture through the middle of the pie to let the setam escape would accomplish the same thing.

Super Apple Pie Recipe : : Food Network
 
Thank you!
It looks like he's got a great idea... cooking it for 1/2 an hour on the floor of the oven... that would probably help alot!
I may just try that. :)
 
I tried making apple pie from scratch once (crust and all) and I had the same problem you're having with a soggy pie crust. Blind baking (prebaking
the crust prior to adding your filling) only works if you're using a bottom crust. I personally think it would be very difficult to put the top crust over the filling if it's on top of a bottom crust that's already been baked.

I personally haven't tried this myself, but I've heard many recommendations
of cooking your pie filling prior to adding it to the crust.

I also heard you could beat an egg white until frothy and then just "paint" it onto the bottom crust. You then just leave the pie crust alone in the pie tin
for 10 minutes; then you add your filling. The beaten egg white supposedly creates a seal and prevents the bottom crust from becoming soggy as a result.
 
This isn't going to help you but I really like the bottom crusty "soggy" Maybe because that is the way I always have.
 
Tossing the apples and draining it are an interesting idea. I do a crumb top on my apple pie so I go ahead and brush the bottom crust with and eggwash and blind bake for a few minutes. This helps alot.

I have a friend who puts bread crumbs or cookie crumbs in the crust b4 the filling to absorb the extra moisture. It's her secret and she swears by it.

Oh, another thing for filled crusts that I'm not blind baking . . . after I line the pie plate with the dough I park the crust into the fridge and chill well before adding the filling.
 
Suzi, before you put the filling into the bottom shell, spread a couple tablespoons of flour on the bottom to absorb any extra liquid from your apples. Then cook as normal. I like the cooking on the bottom rack idea too. That will help. Good luck!
 
Refrigerate your pie shell for 20-30 minutes before filling it. Use a glass pie pan. Be sure your apples are dry before adding the flour, sugar and spices. To do this, I use a clean dish towel or a wad of paperr towels and stir it around in the bowl of apples with my hand. Let the seasoned apples sit for 15 or 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, before filling the pie. Leave out any juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the apple bowl.

Preheat oven to 400 or 425. Bake at this temperature for 10-15 minutes, then reduce to 350 or 375.

Also, the pie crust recipe makes a difference. Some hold up better than others. My favorite in the Never-Fail Pie Crust (recipe follows).

Never Fail Pie Crust

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
5 tablespoons water


Whisk together the flour and salt. Blend in shortening until texture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix together egg, vinegar, and water. Pour all at once into flour mixture, and mix together until evenly moist. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate for 20 or 30 minutes. Roll dough out on a floured pastry board or between two sheets of wax paper; no extra flour is needed to roll out dough if wax paper is used.
 
Cooking the bottom crust a little always works for me as well. I saw someone mention draining the excess juice from the apples before baking, I have never seen this before and I wouldnt recomend it. All that juice is flavor you'll be losing if you drain it off. Alton Brown drains it off, but adds it back into the apples before he bakes. I'll have to try baking it on the oven floor one of these days. Might save me some time.
 

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