Prebaking pie crusts

No more prepared pot pies after retirement. I've picked up enough hints on pie crust here to where I think I can get a decent product. DH likes pot pies with crust on the bottom and the top, not just the top. Can one put a gravied pile of turkey/beef/veggies/whatever in the shell and not have it go soggy, or should I prebake them first? The plan is to make up enough to freeze.

it will take prebaking just to be on the safe side. Good luck! :hi:

I imagine you could get away with it on pot pies.

An old trick I got from a Julia Child show was to brush the bottom shell with slightly beaten egg whites, maybe adding a tiny bit of water, maybe not. You could experiment and see if it works on pot pies-- the worst that would happen is soggy bottoms.

I was thinking that you want to make the pot pies specifically for freezing. Is that correct coz now I'm not sure. If I were going to make it for dinner, I wouldn't pre-bake but if I were making it to put into the freezer for another time, which I've not done before, I would be really tempted to pre-bake. So I'm just guessing based on what I would probably do.

and I never have soggy bottoms. :)

I'll look into that.

I have had no luck making pies and have always been lucky with cast iron.

Hope they meet in the middle.

:)

is to make sure you dock the bottom, have very chilled dough, don't place the filling in until just before you bake, and cut steam vents.

I move as fast as possible putting on the top crust once I have the filling in.
Not sure how that translated to freezer pot pies. I think I would probably make the filling and run it through the foodsaver, then freeze, reheat, and make fresh crust. But that's not what you asked about!

What size skillet? Do you heat it first or just use it as a pie plate?

8 stamped on the bottom, but the bottom diameter measures a little over 9" and the top is close to 10".

I've also baked pies in a 12 inch without any soggy crust issues.
My 8/9/10 takes a double batch of my double crust recipe and 1 1/2 batches of my filling. Big pie!

I may try that. Come to think of it, I have a cookbook about cooking in cast iron I haven't opened yet. There may be more information in there.

I LOVE cooking in cast iron and have a few skillets, a wok, and a corn stick pan. I want to get a nice big dutch oven next.

That's what I use.

:)

If you like a moister crust (it will be less stable) fill, then bake.

Trick is, prick the crust bottom with a fork, making a pretty polka dot pattern over the bottom before you bake. This keeps the crust from bubbling up.

Or, you can buy pie stones or weights that you pour over parchment paper that you have cut to line the pie bottom. They will hold the crust down while you bake it. Prebake maybe 15-20 minutes. watching that it doesn't begin to brown.

Hope that helped. I have done both with quiche and pot pies and either way is good.

I make soy chicken pot pie (store bought 9" deep dish crust) and prebake the crust for maybe 5-7 minutes. I even do the fork prick before baking. I also prebake for fruit pies.

They always seem to make excellent products. My pot pies don't have an very much gravy, but enough to bubble out while baking. However, I have never frozen them afterward, we usually finish it off in a couple of days.

It seems there are different options here, so maybe experiment to see what works out for you. If you're doing several of the normal sized pot pies it will be easy to try the different versions.

Good Luck and let us know which method works the best, as now I'm curious.

I used to love Swanson's pot pies because they had the bottom and top crusts.

for sure.

I have had the good fortune (haha) to work with slow but very steady gas ovens.

My oven at home (which I rarely bake in) is really fast so I would bake 325 for 5-7 minutes.

I'm soooo glad that I do, I don't think I could ever learn to cook with electric.

My home oven sucks and needs to be tossed.

My hope is to start buiding on the foundation - which is already up on the property - by Spring, using recycled/salvaged material.

This old home is goin' down!

And then I might have a gas oven, too :D

Do they still make them? I remember when they were something like twenty-nine cents each.

Whenever my Dad went away on business, our big treat was having these for dinner. They have such a special place in my heart. They were SO good! At least to this kid.

I wonder how they'd taste now. Man, I hope they still make them............................

I think they'll probably wind up cheaper than Swansons also. I bet when they were 29 cents they didn't put in HCFS, either.

I would like to find one thing - a food thing - from my childhood that is still as good as I remember it. Everything I loved has either gone out of business back in my home town - I'm thinking of one specific pizzeria, oh, my god, it was so good! - or, when I tried it as an adult, wasn't very good - the hot dogs at a high school football game.

Swanson's pot pies are probably not very good now, either, what with all that's in them now that wasn't in them then, you're right.

Oh, dear. This getting old stuff really isn't for sentimental sissies, is it?

however, I don't eat meat anymore, but I used to love their chicken and turkey pot pies. Mainly because they have the two crusts. Morton and Banquet pot pies don't.

I make the filling as usual (thicken with cornstarch), spray glass baking dish with olive oil Pam. Pour the filling in and cover with Puff Pastry sheets, brush with egg wash and bake till bubbly and golden. Let sit for 10 minutes, cut and serve. No soggy crust ever again. Yum.