Juicy peaches....
Then's why I never go by a "recipe" for a fruit pie....sometimes they are juicy and sometimes they aren't and sometimes they are super sweet and sometimes they aren't.
And there's almost no way to know but to eat a peach while you are peeling and sliciing. Even soggy, I'll bet they were yummy!
Linda C

I've been told that if you "paint" the inside-bottom of the pie crust with whipped egg white it will help make a barrier that the juices can't easily go through.

One of my MIL's secrets was cornflakes on the bottom crust before you add the fruit. They absorbed much of the liquid that would/could cause soggy bottom crust. Never tasted the cornflakes.

I used to have the same problem until someone on this forum recommended that I preheat the oven at 450 and place a rack at the lowest level. Place the pie on this rack and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temp to 350 and raise the rack to the middle and finish baking. I haven't had a soggy pie crust since...and I make a lot of fruit pies. And it doesn't matter whether or not the filling is runny or not. I've also started cooking the filling first (as I do when I can pie filling) before pouring into the pie crust this way I don't have to cook the pies forever and end up with the crusts over baked and a mess in the oven.

Thanks you guys! Some great ideas/suggestions here!!

Okay, I will try ONE MORE TIME. Last night I made a supposedly "fool proof" cobbler and it ended up down the disposal. Ugh!

I may also try recipes I found in here for peach pound cake and peach salsa. If all of these things fail, I will hang up my apron!

Colo lady,

When I lived in the Denver area I struggled with baking pies. They took forever to bake. For instance, in Denver, a Dutch apple pie baked at 425 degrees for 15 minutes & then reduced to 375 degrees took another 1.5 hrs. to cook the bottom crust. Now, I live at 7' elevation & the same pie is baked thoroughly in less than an hour total. So, I went Googling to see if it was just me or if pies do require altitude adjustment. Here's what Epicurius says:

"Pies
One of the myths of high-altitude baking is that pies need no adjustment. That is not exactly true, though pies are easier to adjust than cakes. Pie crusts are often too dry and need slightly more liquid to become pliable (be careful: too much liquid can develop gluten and toughen crusts). Baking pie fillings all the way through takes longer than it would at sea level. Cover pies loosely with foil during part of the baking time to prevent the top crust from burning before the fruit beneath is completely cooked."

Is it possible your pies were not cooked long enough?

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Epicurius

Something I read somewhere and started doing for pies because it works so well is to put a pizza stone in the oven while it's preheating and when it's nice and hot set the pie on that to bake. Worked very nicely with the peach pie I baked recently.

Judi

Tricia,
Heck, anything's possible. But the crust, where it wasn't soggy, was perfect, and the fruit was certainly cooked throughout so I doubt they weren't cooked long enough (and I covered the edges 10-15 minutes from the end or else they would have burned). Weird, huh?

Judi,
I always wanted a pizza stone. Perhaps now I have the perfect excuse to buy one?!? (yipee!)

I made Nancy's peach butter last night with some mushier peaches from a batch at Costo. WOW! It was fun and tasted terrific! I used a fraction of the 4 1/2 cups of sugar called for. Instead I used 1/3 cup amaretto, a cinnamon stick and about one to 1.5 cups of sugar. It came out great. I boiling water bathed 4 1/2 jars and they all "pinged"!
I'm at work, but do a search here for Peach Butter and Nancy's recipe will appear.

I do the Rose Levy Beranbaum method. I slice the fruit, mix it with sugar and let it sit for a while. Then I drain the juices, reduce those juices over low heat, and then mix the reduced sauce back into the sliced fruit. Works like a charm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baking with Rose

This is so cool! I now have enough ideas to use up the remaining peaches. And there's no way now I won't get a pie out of the deal!

You guys are awesome! (I already knew that - - )

I was going to recommend what ideefixe said. Reduce the juices a little on the stove before hand.
I saw on the Food Channel where a woman used unsalted crushed saltines in the bottom of her fruit pie - like eandhls suggestion.

I wonder - why does no one suggest blind baking first? Does that not help?

Can someone tell me how to give some zip to old peaches for a pie. Yesterday I purchased what I thought were "beautiful" peaches, they sliced well enough but had some bruises and were a bit dull in flavor. What can I add that will still make a good pie? Right now I have them in the fridge with some sugar.

Grated lemon rind? But I like to add a tad bit of vanilla and some cinnamon.
Linda C

Ive never tried blind baking the bottom part of a two crust pie because I would think it would make the top crust hard to attach.
I always put a thin layer of breadcrumbs on the bottom of my fruit pies to absorb the juices.

We like peach pie with just 2-3 grinds of fresh nutmeg & a pinch of ground vanilla beans. No more than a pinch of the vanilla 'cause they're very strong.

/tricia