Pillsbury pie crust/Apple crumb pie ???

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gogirl68

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
8
Location
Monroe, WA
Hello all. I am sure some of you will be appalled at using Pillsbury crust, but my dear mom who just recently passed away started using these with her famous apple crumb pie recipe. It was just easier as she got older.

So my question is this, last year I made this pie and it tasted wonderful, but the crust was soggy and fell apart. Is there anything I can do to prevent this and is it because I used these pre made crusts??

Any help would be appreciated, I would love to impress on Thanksgiving day.
 
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Welcome to DC gogirl! So sorry to hear about your mother. I hope the link below helps. I have not tried this myself, but it seems like a good idea to prevent soggy crusts. I've made apple crumb pies, however I only used the crumb topping and never had a bottom crust.

http://www.ochef.com/887.htm
 
quoting from the above referenced website - this is probably the most fool-proof method for an unbaked bottom crust. And who, pray tell would argue with this lady!!


"A two-crust pie is a little more challenging. Rose Levy Beranbaun, author of the Pie & Pastry Bible (Canada, UK), says she starts baking her pies right on the floor of the oven, for an hour at 375°F (190°C) or a half hour at 425°F (220°C), and then moves it up to a higher rack to finish baking. Ovens and pies vary, so you need to monitor how your pie is baking to keep it from browning too much. "
 
Welcome to DC, Gogo Girl! I don't think your crust problems have anything to do with your using the Pillsbury crust. They are quite a decent product, and save a lot of time, and sometimes a very messy kitchen! When I was teaching a lot of classes, I used to bring a box to my pie and tart class because I had a lot of students who would say after the class.... well, that was fun, but I won't ever make these at home because I'm not confident I can make a good crust. I hate to hear that, because pies are so wonderful, and these are way better than no pie at all.

I do suggest rolling them out between two pieces of waxed paper so they are as thin as youd make a homemade crust.

Make sure you are using a lower moisture apple. Some apples are so watery they'll waterlog your crust no matter what you do!

In our family, for fruit pies we've always put a layer of fine white -- fresh -- breadcrumbs in the bottom of the crust before adding the fruit. They absorb the excess juice and just become part of the pie. Rose's idea of baking on the bottom of the oven is a great one. These days, I bake my pies in my GE Advantium oven. It has halogen heat on the bottom, so the crust cooks right along with the rest of the pie.

Be sure to let us know how yours turns out! :)
 
I believe you've hit the nail on the head, Chef June. I always had trouble with my apple pie fillings being too juicy until I switched to Granny Smith apples.
I was always a snob about pie crust. I had learned to make perfect crust, and was darned proud of it.
But time and age change things, and I'm quite happy with the Pillsbury refrigerated crust. Perhaps it's my imagination, but I do think it's improved over the years.
I think your suggestion of using the bread crumbs in the bottom is an interesting idea...think I'll give it a try.
 
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We use glass pie plates and have pretty good luck getting borwned bottom crusts. Making sure the filling isn't overly juicy also helps.
 
The Mrs. Smith's frozen crusts are pretty good; I've had good success with them, and just leave them in the fridge to thaw, so they're still cold when they go in the oven. These are what I used when I was selling my pies to the farm store.

Another thing you can use besides white bread crumbs to put in the bottom of the pie are crushed vanilla wafers! They work great! I do this especially with peach pies in the summer, when the peaches are really juicy and ripe.

I can make a darn good homemade crust, and sometimes still do; but for mass baking, or times like the holidays, I'm really starting to find that whatever I can do to cut corners and still have quality, I do!

I'm not a fan of the Pillsbury roll-out crusts at all. I find they shrink and buble, even when they go in the oven cold, and even with pie weights. I do use them for things like little turnovers and mini-tarts, tho.
 
Another question???

Thanks everyone for such great advice....just one question...what is blind baking??? I am baking this on Thanksgiving day and will let you all know how it turns out.
 
Blind baking is baking the empty pie crust before adding the filling. This is done for no bake pies such as chocolate cream. It also works for other pies.

After fitting the bottom crust into the pie plate, you have to either dock it - prick it all over the bottom and sides with a fork - or use pie weights to keep the empty crust from bubbling up during baking. To bake with pie weights, place a sheet of parchment paper into the empty crust and weight it down it dried beans or rice. You can buy pie weights but the rice and beans are cheaper.
 
ChefJune said:
Welcome to DC, Gogo Girl! I don't think your crust problems have anything to do with your using the Pillsbury crust. They are quite a decent product, and save a lot of time, and sometimes a very messy kitchen! When I was teaching a lot of classes, I used to bring a box to my pie and tart class because I had a lot of students who would say after the class.... well, that was fun, but I won't ever make these at home because I'm not confident I can make a good crust. I hate to hear that, because pies are so wonderful, and these are way better than no pie at all.

I do suggest rolling them out between two pieces of waxed paper so they are as thin as youd make a homemade crust.

Make sure you are using a lower moisture apple. Some apples are so watery they'll waterlog your crust no matter what you do!

In our family, for fruit pies we've always put a layer of fine white -- fresh -- breadcrumbs in the bottom of the crust before adding the fruit. They absorb the excess juice and just become part of the pie. Rose's idea of baking on the bottom of the oven is a great one. These days, I bake my pies in my GE Advantium oven. It has halogen heat on the bottom, so the crust cooks right along with the rest of the pie.

Be sure to let us know how yours turns out! :)

What great ideas, thank you so much.:)
 
Thanks everyone, just wanted to let you know I used beans and pre baked the crust and then baked on the bottom rack. It turned out awesome!!
 
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