How do you keep pie crust from shrinking when you bake it?

Question

I'm not a very good pie baker, and my crust always shrinks! And it tends to be kind of tough. Can anyone help?

Answer 1

If it's tough, you're probably using too much water and letting it get too warm. Pie crust needs to be kept icy cold during preparation, and I stole a tip from Alton Brown and now add water with a spray mister.

The water releases the gluten in the wheat, which is good for bread dough but bad for flaky, crumbly pie crust. So you want the barest amount of water required to hold it together.

And your hands can heat up the dough enough to melt the butter and release liquid into it, and THAT can make it tough. So always do the following:

1 - Put the bowl, pastry knife, butter, flour, and any implements in the freezer. (There are people who believe it is possible to make a good pie crust with vegetable shortening. They are mistaken. There are also people who believe that butter makes a pie crust tough. They are also mistaken; it's not the butter that makes a crust tough, it's the water -- which is released from the butter when it gets too warm.)

2- Cut the butter into small bits (with the frozen knife, of course), then cut it into the flour (keeping everything as cold as possible). At this point, add a pinch of salt and sugar (a little more sugar if it's a sweet crust, almost none if this is for a meat pie or savory turnovers).

3 - Spray a light mist of water over the butter-flour mixture and run it around the bowl with the icy fork. Spray a few more squirts of water until the dough is a crumbly mass that doesn't stick together -- if it looks doughy, it's too wet and will shrink when you bake it and be tough. This is the trickiest part of the whole process: you need experience to know when the crust still needs another spray, and when it is just crumbly enough. But -- the crumblier the dough, the flakier the crust.

4 - Wrap the whole ball of dough in plastic, then put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to rest. (If it needs to rest longer than 30 minutes, take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge; you want it cold but not frozen solid.)

5 - To roll it out, unwrap the ball of dough on a floured board and roll it to shape with a floured rolling pin. It should have little "dots" of butter scattered through it; they should NOT look melted.

6 - To handle the shrinkage -- MAKE THE CRUST A LITTLE BIGGER THAN THE PIE PLATE. I always leave about 1/2" extra crust around the edges so that when it shrinks, it's the right size. Yes, sometimes life really IS that simple. :-)

If you are "blind baking" your crust -- that is, baking the bottom shell empty so you can fill it later with fresh fruit, chocolate mousse, etc. -- put a layer of aluminum foil on top of the crust, then fill it about halfway with either dried rice or dried beans to weight down the foil. This will let the crust cook but not puff up -- and yes, if you've done this the way I do it will get VERY puffy.

The thing is... a proper pie crust isn't so much a recipe as it's a spiritual quest for perfection in an imperfect world. I am a total snob about pie crusts -- I sniff and sneer and shake my head at commercial pie crusts, and I lie to my friends and family about how good other people's pie crusts are (because one of the few things more important than a good pie crust is a good friend). But I know what I like, and I know what's right, and I know how to get it. Still, even I goof about one time in five -- usually by putting in too much water or not cutting the butter finely enough.

Which means that the answer to how you get a perfect pie crust is like the joke about the tourist who asked the New Yorker how to get to Carnegie Hall -- the New Yorker answered, "Practice..."

Answer 2

Also try not to overcook it, the longer you cook it the more it shrinks! Try the minimum time recommended or just a minute or two less! Also, if you follow the recommended times and it still shrinks your oven might be running a tad hot. You could by an oven thermometer, about $5, and check your temp after the preheat cycle is over. Older and/or cheaper ovens have a tendency to be a tad off. I rented an apartment once where the oven was SO off I had to completely give up baking until I moved!

Answer 3

Line with foil and fill with dried beans of any variety. Bake for 10-15 minutes before filling. Poking holes in the bottom and sides of the crust helps also.

Answer 4

By PROPERLY crimping or fluting the edges of the pie crust! That's what will keep it from shrinking! And it is tough from over-working the dough...

Fold dough edge under itself, flush with pan rim. To flute, press down with your thumb and first finger on dough rim to make indentations; at the same time, press against dough edge with 1 finger of your other hand, pushing it between your fingers on the rim. Repeat indentations side by side around rim.

(It has to adhere to the rim of the pie plate---will not shrink then)

Answer 5

when you're making crust just mix it with your fingers, mix the butter with the flower only until it's incorporated....when you're ready to bake, lightly line the crust with tin foil and fill wqith loose dry beans, this will keep the crust from bubbling and shrinking. Hope this helps

Answer 6

Rest it in the fridge for at least one hour before cooking. If it's topless freeze it first. Don't over work it that makes it tough. If you can use a processor it doesn't warm up with your hands that way. Cool is the answer.

Answer 7

Im not so good either but my mom is very good and she always pokes holes in the bottom with a fork and then puts to bake.

Answer 8

In the superstore, fruits are usually chosen much too soon. Some are rocks, many are bad. Some of the fruit and vegetables are typical right (zucchini, onions, garlic, lettuce, greens, and a few others) so I'd have to go with vegetables.

Answer 9

You put weights in the bottom. Either professional weights or dry beans

Answer 10

Find out what makes it shrink and don't add it when you made the crust. Never know untill ya try.