Make Sure Pie Dish Is Deep Enough To Hold The Filling
TEST KITCHEN
Q: Sometimes my pumpkin pies recipes end up with way too much filling, and sometimes not nearly enough. The recipes always specify 9-inch dishes, but things dont always end up fitting. How do I avoid this?
We feel your pain. The trouble is most pie recipes specify what diameter pie dish to use, but they dont specify how deep. This isnt such a problem with fruit pies that have a top crust to hold in a generous filling , but its definitely a problem with single-crust pies like pumpkin and pecan. A skimpy filling looks sad and throws off the crust-to-filling ratio. Too much filling is simply a waste.
Pie dishes, and frozen pie shells, all come in different depths, from 1 1/4 inches to 2 inches deep, and just 1/4 inch difference in depth results in a volume difference of 1 cup. Also, some recipes are developed for 2-inch-deep pie dishes but fail to tell the depth in the directions. These are considered deep dish in the frozen pie shell world. So if you were to buy a crust rather than make it from scratch, and you choose a standard frozen pie shell, youd be in trouble.
To make it worse, some frozen pie shells labeled as 9-inch deep dish are actually closer to 8 inches when measured from the inside rim, and are also not quite 2 inches deep.
Volume of 9-inch pie dishes:
9 inch by 1 1/4 inch = 4 cups
9 inch by 1 1/2 inch = 5 cups
9 inch by 2 inch = 8 cups
Danielle Centoni
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Also Great: Emile Henry 9
Though its pricier than other models, the Emile Henry 9-Inch Pie Dish is a worthwhile investment for anyone who wants a deep, attractive dish for serving pies. It has ranked among our top picks since we first wrote this guide in 2013, and in all our tests it has consistently browned crusts and cooked fillings more evenly than other ceramic plates. The Emile Henry is safe to transfer from freezer to oven, and its also the only one of our picks thats broiler safe, which is an advantage when you want to brown the top of a meringue pie. Plus, its prettier than a glass plate and available in several colors.
All the pies we baked in the Emile Henry dish came out beautifully. Its blind-baked crusts were well browned on the bottom, whereas other, thicker, heavier ceramic plates turned out paler crusts. Our pumpkin pie set perfectly, and our peach pie emerged golden and crisp from top to bottom. Although pies took a few minutes longer to bake in the Emile Henry dish than in the OXO and Pyrex plates, they were still done within the guidelines of the recipe. Thicker ceramic plates, such as the USA Pan Pie Stone, took as much as 20 minutes longer to bake and still left our pies with a soggy bottom.
Can You Make A Pie In A Pyrex Dish
A pyrex dish is also another option you can choose to make pies. According to some, it is one of the best dishes to prepare pies. They conduct heat evenly. In addition, since it is see-through, you can watch if the bottom is adequately browning.
Though, there are some factors to consider. Since it is glass, you should be careful placing it on cold surfaces when it is hot. If you do, you may potentially shatter the pyrex dish.
Recommended Reading: The Key Lime Pie Company
How To Blind Bake Your Pie Crust
What is blind baking, you ask? Blind baking is when you bake the pie crust on its own without any filling inside. There are two reasons to do this:
Before blind baking your crust, line it with lightly greased foil, covering the pie edges as much as possible, then fill it with pie weights. This helps prevent the crust from puffing and browning too much.
Bake with the foil for 15 minutes then remove the foil. Bake another 5 minutes or until the bottom no longer looks wet.
At this point, you need to check your pie recipe. If youre going to bake it with filling, youre done for now.
However, if youre fully baking your crust, bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown and done.
Our Pick: Oxo Good Grips Glass 9 Pie Plate With Lid
*At the time of publishing, the price was $13.
The OXO Good Grips Glass 9 Pie Plate With Lid conducts heat very well, and in our tests it baked some of the most evenly browned crusts. At 2 inches deep, its one of the few glass dishes we found that qualify as deep-dish plates. It fits thick fruit pies better than shallower glass plates but isnt so deep that custard pies look skimpy. The rim is wider than most, which makes shaping a pretty crust easy, while the clear glass lets you see when your pie is done. And unlike with some other glass plates, you can transfer this one directly from freezer to oven since its made of borosilicate glass.
Among the 19 pie plates weve tested over the years, the OXO dish produced some of the most evenly browned crusts. In every test crusts baked up golden from edge to edge, with no pale spots as we saw on the bottoms and sides of pies baked in other plates. The pumpkin pie we baked in the OXO plate set into a smooth custard with a few small crinkles around the edges, while the peach pie emerged jammy and juicy with a neatly crimped edge and a crisp, golden-brown crust on top and bottom. Both pies cut neatly and didnt stick to the pan.
This pie plate comes with OXOs Better Guarantee, meaning OXO will replace it if it breaks under normal use due to any defects, and weve always found OXOs customer service to be very good. Well also continue to long-term test this plate to see how it performs over time.
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Emile Henry Artisan Deep Ruffled Pie Dish
Kitchns Pick for the Best Pie Plate
This is actually a hard one! Because we see the merits of glass, ceramic, and aluminum. Theyre all so different! And it does kind of depend on the pie youre making and what youre planning to do with it. For example, we love the Williams Sonoma option for a simple graham cracker or cookie crust. The OXO glass one is nice for fruit or custard-based pies. But if we had to pick just one, were actually going to diverge from everyone on this list and pick this ceramic Emile Henry dish .
First of all, its gorgeous, so its sure to elevate anything you make. We also like that its so fluted, taking the pressure of novice bakers who might be intimidated with crust work. It can also go straight from the freezer to the oven, which is handy if you tend to freeze your fruit pies before baking them. And it can go under broiler, which glass cant do.
Do you have a pie dish you love? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Replace Your Pans When Needed
The material of your pie pan determines its lifespan. For instance, nonstick pans have a lifespan of about five years, while stainless steel pans can last a lifetime when used and maintained correctly.
For pie pans that dont last a lifetime, replace them when they no longer work as they should, and you cant re-season them to their original state.. Using them when their use has expired can contaminate your pie or make it turn out badly. Besides, your old pans can serve other purposes outside the kitchen.
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Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Pie Dish
The Best Pie Plate, According to Cooks Illustrated and EpicuriousThe testers at Cooks Illustrated didnt like glass as much as Wirecutter because it struggled with release issues when it came time to serve. Instead, they picked this metal dish, which is extremely thin so it heats quickly and evenly. They said it baked crusts perfectly without ever over-browning. They also liked its super simple lip, which meant they could do their own crust-crimping. And did note that the metal surface can cut or scratch when youre slicing up the pie, but that this was not a huge issue.
Testers at Epicurious came to the same conclusion as Cooks Illustrated. Their tests involved making a blueberry pie and a Key lime pie in each pan. This pan did the best in both tests, but did especially well with the berry pie, producing the most even results and crisp crust of all. They noted that the slices came out incredibly easily. They also noted the scratching issue but said the scratches didnt seem to have any negative effect on the utility of the dish. Note: Williams Sonoma recommends using wooden or silicone tools when serving.
Ceramic: Staub Pie Dish
by Staub
For delicious moist fillings wrapped in scrumptious crispy crusts, grab this heavy-duty ceramic pie pan. It evenly distributes heat to fully cook your pies. And its porcelain enamel glaze wont absorb moisture from your food. Its fantastic for delicate bakes such as coconut cream pies. And its nice deep base is great for yummy pumpkin pie, classic apple pies, and much more.
Furthermore, this sturdy pie dish is oven safe up to 527F. With its excellent thermal resistance, you can use this dish to freeze and microwave any leftovers. Plus, its available in several lovely colors and comes with well-sized handles for easy portability. You can serve directly from this pretty pie dish and its super easy to clean.
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Baking Sheet/half Sheet Pan
What Theyre Used For: Baking cookies, breads, and sheet cakes roasting vegetables and meats making full dinners carrying foods to and from the grill.
What You Should Know: Youll find yourself pulling these babies out over and over , so I recommend having at least 2 baking sheets. Some may refer to sheet pans as jelly roll pans or cookie sheets. While technically cookie sheets are a bit different , baking sheets can be used for all cookie recipes. When purchasing a baking sheet, choose a heavy-duty pan that wont buckle under high heat. Its also important to select one that is light in color. Darker metal conducts heat better than light metal, which can cause the bottom of your baked goods to burn.
My Fave: USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan
Cake Pans To Cookie Sheets: 16 Essential Baking Pans
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After leaving the restaurant industry when my kids were babies, I started a home-based baking business specializing in desserts for milestone occasions, from 1st birthdays to 50th anniversaries. Beyond traditional layer cakes, I made heart-shaped cakes, cupcakes, train cakes, cookie cakes, petit fours, fancy tarts, and the list goes on and on. As you can imagine, I accumulated quite a few specialty baking pans, and most of them are now collecting dust in my cabinet. However, there are certain baking pans I still use over and over again for family cooking.
These are the essential baking pans I recommend for all bakers, experienced and new, in order to have a well-stocked kitchen when its time to get your baking on.
Want to become a better baker? Read my essential baking tips.
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Should You Grease A Pie Pan
There are a lot of different opinions about whether or not you should grease a pie pan, but generally speaking, a quick spritz of cooking spray on the bottom of a pie dish will help keep your pie from sticking to the bottom of the panbut there’s no need to overdo it. Many people believe that greasing a pie dish will change the texture of your pie crust, making it less flaky. So if you’re more concerned with a flaky crunch than easily removing slices of pie, feel free to skip the cooking spray. If your pie does manage to stick to the bottom of the pan, gently heating the bottom of the pan by dipping the bottom in a shallow pan of hot water should help loosen the crust from the pan.
The Spruce Eats / Jenny Kellerhals
How Much Filling Goes Into A 9
Conversion of Filling
About 4 cups of filling is required for most 9-inch pies. Mini pies, on the other hand, need approximately a third of a cup of filling, maybe a teaspoon more in certain cases. So, if we make eight little pies, well need eight times the amount of time. 1/3 = 2 2/3 cups of filling, which roughly translates to 3 cups of pie filling for 8 mini pies.
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Do You Need A Pie Dish To Make A Pie
Although using a pie dish is the easiest way to serve your pie, you can also make your small pie crust in a 6 inch cake pan or 6 inch springform pan .
With the springform pan, you can remove the pan side and slice your pie as normal.
However, with the cake pan I found it a little challenging to cut and serve your pie. Because most pies are delicate, you cant invert the pan like you would with a cake.
Instead, you may need to remove the pie one slice at a time.
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Can You Use A Pie Pan To Bake A Cake
Yes, you can use a pie pan to bake a cake, but you should be aware that pie pans typically have angled sides and cake pans have straight sides. Because of this difference, if you’re making a layered cake, the edges of the cake will be harder to frost. The cakes can be trimmed to get rid of the angled edges but may still be difficult to frost. Generally, cake pans should be used for baking cakes, but in a pinch, a pie pan will do if you aren’t interested in how good the final product looks.