How to prevent a soggy pie crust
Always such a shame: you’ve baked a beautiful apple pie, only to discover that the crust is soggy and doughy. How can you prevent this? Pastry chefs Hidde de Brabander and Waldo Weijsenfeld are here to help.
A soggy, doughy pie crust is especially a problem with apple pie. “When you bake an apple pie, moisture comes out of the apples and gets into your dough,” explains master pastry chef Hidde de Brabander.
Extra ingredient
The best tip for keeping the bottom from getting soggy is to add an ingredient between the filling and the crust that absorbs the moisture. Hidde: “For example, add pieces of cake or breadcrumbs to the filling; they work like a kind of sponge. For my apple pies, I personally go for a layer of almond paste, crumble cake over it, then I also make the filling with cake crumbs mixed in and use apples that release little moisture, such as Elstar apples.’’
Pastry chef Waldo Weijsenfeld adds: “With cheesecakes, I first bake the crust until crisp, then spread a layer of chocolate over it, and only then add the filling.’’
Still dealing with a soggy crust?
“The problem may be that you haven’t baked the crust properly, or the recipe simply isn’t right,” says Waldo. Finally, it’s best to bake the pie low in the oven. Use both top and bottom heat, and at the end switch to bottom heat only; this ensures that the crust is fully cooked.
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