Shrinking Pie Crust - Help!

[flowerlover]

So I had to prebake a crust for lemon meringue pie, well the crust shrunk,why did that happen?

[GLC]

Could be one or all of several things. The most likely fundamental cause is developed gluten in the dough. It tends to shrink while baking. That's a good thing with bread, not with pie crust. It can be from using a high protein flour, overworking the dough (like kneading, that develops organized gluten strands), or going quickly from rolling and dropping into the pan, right into the oven. A rest period might have prevented it, if that was the problem. And don't stretch the dough to fit it into the pan. It will draw back up without a substantial rest period, just like it tries to draw in when your rolling it out. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator before rolling. And when you have rolled it, set the sheet into the pie pan so the the needed dough falls into the bottom and sides without having to be pushed and prodded. Then let it rest refrigerated again.

Like I said, it could be one of those or all of those. You can figure where it might have happened. I gather from the question that maybe you don't normally prebake pie shells. Filling unbaked shells might have helped prevent shrinking, and now it really shows up, even though the technique was the same. See what others say, but that's the most likely. It's just dough being dough.

[Zereh]

The first thing I thought of was maybe you baked it without having it weighted down?

When pre-baking ("blind baking") a pie crust, line it with foil or parchment paper and fill it with pie weights, dried beans or rice, or a jar's worth of loose change. Bake until the rim just begins to color. Remove the weights and carefully prick the bottom and sides with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Return it to the oven and continue baking until pale golden. Brush with egg wash, if desired, and bake a few more minutes to create a seal.

[Claire]

In home ec I was taught that it is usually stretching the dough to fill the pan, as GLC mentioned. Now I usually use the little dough boy's crust, but even that will shrink if you put it over the top of the pan, then push it down to fit to the bottom. You need to very loosely put it in the bottom of the pan, not try to force it into the corners.

Another thing to remember is that pie crust is a quick dough, not a yeast dough. In other words don't over-handle it, and avoid letting it get too warm. Again, I'm reiterating what GLC's already said. Refridgerate, don't handle too much, don't let get warm (which will happen if you handle it too much).

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Please post your pie dough recipe and technique. My pie crusts don't shrink, whether blind baking, or baking with a filling. We can diagnose the problem better if we know what you did.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[flowerlover]

I used a refrigerator crust that you unroll. I know my bad,but I was concentrating on the filling. Thanks you guys for the input.Should have told you it was a not from scratch crust.But I didnt handle it much, so I don't know