Tempered Glass Pie Plates Are Superior To Pricey Stoneware Ones For Baking Pies
My neighbors have been calling it the Summer of Pie. As I’ve researched flaky crusts , the ins and outs of tapioca starch in cherry pie, and how to use frozen fruit to amp up the flavor of a classic blueberry pie, I’ve given away approximately 36 fruit pieseach missing a single slice. For, uh, you know. Science.
The earliest rounds of testing were done in my own cheap-o glass pans, but eventually friends and family just started donating their collections to the cause. Beautiful stoneware, lightweight aluminum, painted ceramic, you name it. And, while each turned out a gorgeous pie, not all produced an equally crispy crust.
Very early on, I discovered that thick ceramic and stoneware turned out pale and greasy crust, even though my pies are baked for about 75 minutes at 400°F. Not that it was much of a mystery because these heavy materials conduct heat so slowly, the bottom crust bakes more slowly, too. As a result, the flaky butter oozes out of place and never truly cooks through, resulting in a bottom crust that’s dense and soft rather than layered and crisp.
My personal choice for pie has always been tempered glass, because it’s cheap but sturdy, and nonreactive to boot. Since glass conducts heat more quickly than stone, the butter melts more quickly, too, releasing steam to preserve the dough’s flaky layers and turning out a crust that’s golden and crisp overall.
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.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats
Donna Currie has written for The Spruce Eats since 2016. A seasoned recipe writer and gadget tester, she also wrote the cookbook Make Ahead Bread.
This article was updated by Jenny Kellerhals, who also tested all of the pie pans on this list for The Spruce Eats. She is a professional pastry chef in New York City and a freelance food writer. At home, pies are her go-to dessert and always a crowd favorite.
Also Check: Campbell’s Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
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.
How Do You Take A Pie Out Of The Pan
A pie is typically served in the pan that it is baked in. For serving, a slice of pie is cut with a sharp knife and a pie server is inserted under the crust to lift the piece out to serve. If you want to remove the entire pie from the pan, the pie should be completely chilled or frozen first. A chilled or frozen pie is easier to handle and less likely to break. Once thoroughly chilled, use a knife or pie server to loosen the pie from the pan and either lift the pie out or carefully invert the pie to remove it. If you’re planning on removing the pie from the pan in advance, a disposable aluminum pie pan is the easiest to cut through and remove your pie with the least amount of damage.
The Spruce Eats / Jenny Kellerhals
Don’t Miss: Kermits Key Lime Pie Recipe
Why You Should Trust Us
Through high school, college, and culinary school, Daniela Galarza worked in bakeries and restaurant pastry kitchens, where she baked thousands of pies. She has made every type of pie dough and filling, and has used pie dishes of all sizes, shapes, and styles. Marguerite Preston, who worked on a previous version of this guide, is a former professional baker with almost two decades of pie making under her belt. Shes now a senior editor overseeing Wirecutters kitchen and appliance coverage. This guide also builds on work by Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset.
To ensure we werent limited to our own experiences, for our 2019 update we reached out to some of the best in the pie-making business, including third-generation pie baker Petra Paredez of Petees Pie Company in New York City Melissa Clark, longtime food columnist for The New York Times, who has written a guide to pie crust pastry chef and recipe developer Erin McDowell, author of The Fearless Baker and The Book of Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake the Perfect Pies Jerrelle Guy, photographer, recipe developer, and author of Black Girl Baking and Nicole Rucker, a pastry chef and pie baker in Los Angeles whose new book, Dappled, includes a section on pie. In the past weve also spoken to a number of other cookbook authors and pie experts.
How Do I Use A Fluted Pie Pan
Prepare the pastry as you would with a regular pie pan, but be sure youve allowed an inch extra larger than the diameter of the pie pan when you cut the round. Fold the extra dough over all around, and then pinch the dough along the edges between your fingertips to follow the pattern of the fluted surface. If the dough becomes difficult to work with, refrigerate the pie until the dough is well-chilled.
Simply Recipes / Lizzy Briskin
Also Check: American Pie Summer Camp
How Do You Buy The 10 Best Deep Dish Pie Pan In 2021 Recommended
Do you get stressed out thinking about shopping for a great deep dish pie pan? Do doubts keep creeping into your mind? We understand, because weve already gone through the whole process of researching deep dish pie pan, which is why we have assembled a comprehensive list of the greatest deep dish pie pan available in the current market. Weve also come up with a list of questions that you probably have yourself.
Huts Frankand Angies has done the best we can with our thoughts and recommendations, but its still crucial that you do thorough research on your own for deep dish pie pan that you consider buying. Your questions might include the following:
- Is it worth buying an deep dish pie pan?
- What benefits are there with buying an deep dish pie pan?
- What factors deserve consideration when shopping for an effective deep dish pie pan?
- Why is it crucial to invest in any deep dish pie pan, much less the best one?
- Which deep dish pie pan are good in the current market?
- Where can you find information like this about deep dish pie pan?
Were convinced that you likely have far more questions than just these regarding deep dish pie pan, and the only real way to satisfy your need for knowledge is to get information from as many reputable online sources as you possibly can.
This technology we use to assemble our list depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the following:
Other Pie Dishes We Tested
The ceramic Le Creuset Heritage Pie Dish is both beautiful and functional. Even if you start with ready-made dough and filling, itll deliver a pie with a crisp crust that you can proudly bring to the table. As the Le Creuset can withstand temps up to 500°F, you can use it to brown off a streusel-topped fruit pie. Theres a bit of room to hold it under the rim but for a really good grip, grab it along the sides. While this dish is only 8 ¼-inches wide, its 2-inches deep so it can accommodate five cups or the recipe on the back of Libbys canned pumpkin. Like all ceramicware, its heavy but microwave and dishwasher safe. Choose from a full array of the brands colors from the classic flame to trendy matte sugar pink.
Pros
Recommended Reading: Key Lime Pie Co
The Best Budget Pie Plate: Pyrex 9
The Pyrex 9-inch Pie Dish has been around for a long time for good reason. It’s just the right size for most recipes, its sturdy, inexpensive, and it bakes quite evenly. Being able to see through the bottom to check the browning on the crust is also a huge bonus for novice and experienced bakers alike. The dish was slightly harder to clean than my number one pick and had some stickage issues with the graham cracker crust, but it was nothing a little scrub couldn’t take care of.
There have been incidents of Pyrex bakeware shattering in recent years which is why this dish ended up in second place. I didnt have any issues while I was baking and anecdotally havent heard of this happening to any of the bakers I know, but make sure to follow manufacturers instructions when using these dishes to reduce the small chance of your dish shattering.
What Size Pan Are Most Pie Recipes Written To Fit
The majority of pie recipes will fit in a standard 9-inch pie pan, usually one and a half inches deep. These measurements will ensure that too much moisture doesnt build up in the filling, resulting in a soggy base.
It will also ensure that the proportions of the crust and the filling are appropriate. Some pies, such as pecan or pumpkin pie, do not have a crust on top to hold the filling in should it overflow.
You can read the post Does Apple Pie Need A Top Crust? to learn more about that relationship.
Most pies would use the standard 9-inch pan and shallower depth to speed up cooking since a deeper pie needs to cook longer. But the standard size will also brown the crust and provide more crust per slice.
However, you will need to double-check that the pan you are purchasing is actually 9 inches in width.
The Los Angeles Times has warned that the true width can be smaller than the label suggests, resulting in a disproportionate pie. Short of measuring the pan in person, you can always read through customer reviews.
Many recipes only state the necessary width of the pan and not how deep it should be. You can measure the volume of the pan against the estimated volume of the recipes filling.
But you might consider the broader elements of the intended pie recipe. For example, some fruit pies are going to use deep-dish pie pans so that the end result has more moisture.
Also Check: Campbells Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
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 Do You Put A Pie Crust Into A Pie Pan
After you’ve rolled out a pie crust, you will need to transport it to your pie pan quickly and smoothly to keep the rolled dough from tearing. If the dough is relatively small, you can move it by sliding your hands and arms underneath the dough, lifting it, and quickly transferring it to the pie plate. If the dough is larger or you’d like more support while moving the dough, you can loosely roll the dough over your rolling pin to move it, then unroll the dough over your pie dish.
Once the pie dough is resting on the pie pan, you begin shaping it by smoothing the dough across the bottom surface of the pan and then fitting the dough into the crease of the pan. Next, you’ll press the dough against the sides of the dish, allowing any extra dough to hang over the lip. Trim the dough about half an inch past the lip of the dish, and crimp the edge of your pie crust as you like.
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In Search Of The Best Pie Dish
Making flaky, perfectly golden pies can be a daunting task for novice cooks and experienced bakers alike. Still, with a little patience and the right toolsstarting with a sturdy pie platebeautiful results are within anyone’s reach. Confused by the options? Pie dishes come in a wide range of styles and materials, from flimsy disposable supermarket tins to hand-thrown stoneware plates, making it hard to know which one will yield the best bang for the buck. In search of an educated answer, we spent 20 hours filling, crimping, and baking our way through a lineup of some of the most commonly available and widely recommended pie plates on the market. Our conclusion: Sometimes the simplest tools really are the best.