Sticky Bottom Pie Crusts

I was sitting at a table with friends the other night at our Community Bible Study leadership potluck and Christmas party.  My friend Mary Ann said, “Jo and Catherine, you both cook a lot, can you tell me how to keep pecan pie from sticking on the bottom?”

Well, I sat up a little straighter knowing this conversation was about to be right up my alley.  I glanced over at our friend Jo who said, “you are filling it too full.  I have never had that problem and I am careful not to over-fill.”  Mary Ann quickly nodded her head and said, “well, that could be my problem since I always want to get every bit of deliciousness out of the bowl.”

Then it was my turn to add a nugget of wisdom to the conversation.  I smiled at my tablemates and opened my mouth to speak when to my right my dear sweet, and I must say very-timely, husband appeared having just returned from the dessert table.  “Well honey bunch” he began, “your Chess Pie looks great but it stuck on the bottom.”

I nearly choked on my own sweet smile and said, “how interesting, we were just discussing how to prevent that from happening.”   Evidently I have no secret wisdom at all!

Truthfully, I have had the “sticky-bottom” on many pies and only recently decided the cure-all is to lightly spray canola oil in the pie pan before laying down the crust.  On second thought, that may not always work! 🙂

So, I did what I often do and Googled the answer to this dilemma.

From Emeril Lagasse’s pecan pie recipe a reviewer wrote:
Flour to the bottom of the crust to keep the crust from sticking, this one did not stick at all.

From Buttercream-bakehouse.com, a blog post sponsored by Pam says: Using Pam Cooking Spray helps release dough sticking to your work surface and your hands which is an essential tool for baking a pie.  (So take this for what it is worth … being sponsored by Pam!)

From AL.com website  “You ease the crust into a buttered pie plate, add your filling, and top it off with another thin layer of crust. (Buttering the pie plate is important especially for a pecan pie. The filling tends to leak through the bottom crust and stick, making serving difficult.)”

Allrecipes.com has a lot to say about pie making in general.  You can read it for yourself here.

I also read one post that says if you use a metal pie pan it won’t stick as opposed to using a glass pie plate that always sticks.  I actually haven’t tested that.

Here are few other suggestions:

Next time try dipping the bottom of the bottom of the pie plate into hot water for 10-20 seconds. This will remelt any solid butter and release the crust. It has never failed me for any cake or pie.

I have always made sure to have a light dusting of flour remaining on the crust after it is rolled out. I made pies for restaurants & never had one stick to the pan. For savory pies cornmeal can also be used.

So what does all this add up to?

* Don’t over-fill your pie crust
* Butter or spray the pie plate before using
* If you aren’t sure it will not stick, dip the bottom of the plate in hot water before trying to slice it.

Do you have a sure-fire method of keeping the bottom of your pies from sticking to the pie plate?  If so — please let me know.  I will pass on the information to all of our readers!

Happy Pie Baking!  And Don’t Forget — the REASON for this Season!
Catherine

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14