When I bake an empty pie shell, I prick it all over with a fork (even the sides) and let it go. Sometimes it puffs up a little, but I just poke it a bit more during baking, and all is well. Sometimes the sides slip down a little, but not enough to matter for summer blueberry pie.Yesterday, inspired by my sister-in-law, I tried a few variations on my usual technique. I rolled the dough inside Freeze-tite, a thicker plastic wrap that is 18" wide. What a great way to go--I didn't need extra flour, and the disk was easy to roll out and to transfer into the pie dish.
Innovation #2 was (ahem) less successful. Instead of my usual shortening, I used half butter and half shortening for the fat, trying to increase the tastiness factor. The dough was much softer. I could tell as a I transferred it and as I shaped the edges, but I decided to stick with my usual baking style anyway. You can see the results of such laziness:
I had two pies to make, so I moved on to "blind baking", holding the crust in place with a piece of foil covered with weights (Split peas and lentils are what I had on hand.).
I filled the foil to the tippity top because I was not just holding the bottom DOWN, but was also trying to keep the fluted edge UP. Somewhat better results, eh?
Next time I'll pull the foil out a little sooner to give the top of the bottom (get it?) more time to brown.
Which crust would you rather fill with yumminess? Yeah, me too.And yes, the butter did add good flavor (although I've never minded the blandness of a Crisco crust) and maybe a little crispiness. I'm not sure if it's worth it to have such a soft dough, though. Maybe if I add a little less water...
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