Make a Perfect Pie! Tips from Food Stylist Rachel Grunig
We're always looking for reasons to eat pie, but sometimes making a pie - especially a pie crust - can seem pretty intimidating. Food stylist Rachel Grunig whips up pies more days than not while consistently maintaining a Zen-like demeanor for clients like Amazon. So, in celebration of Pi Day, who better to provide us with baking secrets?
Here are Rachel's top three tips for making a perfect pie (and a galette tip for good measure):
Parbake Your Pie Crust
Freeze and parbake your crust before filling and baking your pie. It’s easy, takes about 30 minutes and ensures that you don’t end up with a soggy, slimy, underbaked bottom crust. To parbake: Fit the pie dough into its dish, trim, fold and crimp your edges. Next, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, then pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so; meanwhile, heat your oven to 375F. Remove the chilled pie crust from the freezer, fill it with pie weights or beans (if using beans, make sure to put down a layer of parchment or foil) and bake for 20-25 minutes. You want the crust to set and start to look golden brown. After the crust is set, take out the pie weights and bake another 5 minutes to get the bottom crust a little more golden brown.
Use an egg wash or cream wash on your top crust. This will help the crust brown nicely. You can also sprinkle raw sugar to add some crunch, sweetness, and sparkle.
Protect the Edges
Cover your crust edges an edge protector (there are reusable ones, foil also works great) when you start to bake your pie. Remove the edge protector about 10 minutes before the pie is done baking so that you don’t over-brown the edges.
A Galette Tip for Good Measure
When I make a galette, I always put down a thin layer of almond meal to soak up the juices released by the fruit during baking. It creates a lovely layer of fruity nutty softness that is so delicious and prevents fruit juice from leaking out of the galette.
We always appreciate Rachel's food making and styling advice and hope you do too. To see Rachel's work, visit www.sallyreps.com.
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