Perfect Pie Crust: An Easy Way to Avoid Overbrowning
When baking a pie, I used to protect the crust from overbrowning by wrapping small strips of foil over the edges midway through baking. Not only was trying to wrap bits of foil onto a blazing hot pie pan difficult and dangerous, but at least one piece inevitably fell off during the trip in or out of the oven. What a relief to learn Rose Levy Berenbaum’s why-didn’t-I-think-of-it foolproof method for keeping pie crust edges from getting too brown.
In The Pie and Pastry Bible, Beranbaum recommends cutting a circle of foil big enough to wrap over the pie and snipping out the center of the circle, forming a ring that securely protects the edges. It’s just as quick as tearing off small strips of foil and way less fiddly. Simple and ingenious!
I’m doing a lot of pie-baking this summer and I can’t recommend Beranbaum’s book enough for its straightforward advice on making the very best pies.
• Find it: The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, $31.50 on Amazon
Do you have any tips for keeping pie crusts from getting too brown?