I use the Vodka crust recipe, although some people say they can taste the Vodka in it (I do not). I believe that the Vodka evaporates, thereby preventing the crust from being soggy. Anyway, I never have a soggy crust when I use that recipe. I think you also need to have sufficient thickener in the fruit filling - I have been using corn starch. I alternate between Pyrex and metal pie pans and get similar results from both types of pans.

Did you blind bake the crust first?

When pies are judged at fairs, these are some reasons for soggy lower crust according to our judging standards:

-Filling too moist. What type of thickener, if any do you use? When you make an apple pie, you may want a mixture of different kinds of apples to prevent too much moisture in the filling.

-Cooked filling too hot when added.

-Shiny pie pan used -- can cause crust to bake too slowly.

-Pie pan placed on baking sheet or aluminum foil -- interferes with heat transfer.

-Oven temperature too low or time too short. Have you checked your oven lately for temperature accuracy?

-Grainlady

I use a dark pan...a butter and vodka crust....usually....sometimes lard and water.....and put my pie into a 425 preheated oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 375, without opening the oven. I will check about 40 minutes into the baking and lay a piece of foil over the top if it's getting too brown

And you won't care! Hiccup.

For fruit pies, I brush the inside bottom of the crust with beaten egg white and bake at 400 for 5 minutes before adding filling. That creates a seal. I should mention that I use a crumb topping on fruit pies rather than a top crust.

Upside down pie?

dcarch

I'm sure mine have more to do with luck than skill, but I haven't had a soggy bottom except once when the crust cracked and the juice leaked to the outside. Not blind baked, with double crust. I do use a Pyrex dish, however. Always have. I think Annie, or someone, recently said that the glass bottom bakes the bottom bake better. I also use the white ones (Pyrex pyroceram) for quiches, and again, don't have sog issues.

I've also been watching the Great British Baking Show and I thought the pie outing was sad. All were using heavy ceramic dishes. Oh, wait! I forgot. I have some ceramic mini-pie plates and they worked fine. Maybe it isn't the dish?

Maybe their crusts are cracked and they can't tell because they have opaque dishes?

I'm in a rush, now, or I'd post the recipe. I did use cornstarch, a pyrex pan, didn't blind bake, set the oven to 425, then lowered to 375, baked for 50 minutes, and the top crust was almost, but not quite burned. I used some of the apples that Annie sent me, Empires, and also some Grannie Smith. I'll post the recipe tonight. (Unless I forget.)

Sally

Did you bake it on the bottom-most rack?

No, I didn't. The recipe didn't say to.

Here's the recipe: It's from King Arthur Flour Baking Companion.

The Best Apple Pie

One 9-inch double piecrust

3 1/4 pounds (about 9 whole apples) Cortland, Granny Smith,
or other baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (7 to 8 cups)

1/4 cup (2 ounces) apple cider

1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Juice of 1/ 2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar

1/4 cup (1 ounce) cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each
nutmeg and allspice)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

In a large bowl, stir together the apples, cider, rum, lemon
juice, and vanilla. Whisk together the dry ingredients, mixing until well
combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the apples to coat them evenly.

Roll one piece of piecrust into a 13-inch round and lay it
gently in a 9-inch pie plate. Spoon in the filling. Roll out the other piece,
lay it atop the filling, and seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with
milk and sprinkle it with coarse sugar, if desired. Or save a bit of the crust
and cut decorative leaf designs, laying them in the center of the crust or
around the edges. Cut a few slashes in the crust, or a round hole in the center
to vent steam.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees
F, land bake for an additional 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is brown and the
filling is bubbly.

Sally

Too much wet stuff.....I use only apples sugar and perhaps a teaspoon of lemon juice....and cinnamon of course.
I use 2 pie plates, same size. I fill one with sliced apples as full as I will for the pie, dump it into a bowl and add a teaspoon of lemon and sugar and flour, about 2 tablespoons unless the apples are really juicy, mixed. usually 1/2 cup of sugar unless the apples are really under ripe....roll out my bottom crust, dump in the fruit, top, crimp cut slits and into the oven....but that oven must be preheated for at least 20 minutes. After 12 minutes turn down the heat to 3 75 for another 40 minutes or so.
Unless you blind bake your crust, that amount of liquid will make for a very soggy crust. Remember, when baking, sugar equals liquid.

Thanks, Linda, that's really good advice. I never thought about measuring out the amount of apples by filling up a second pie place. I have two identical pie plates, so I could do that.

Sally

I've been baking apple pies for about 60 years now. If I've ever had one come out with a soggy bottom crust, I don't remember it now. I use the Pyrex plates only for any fruit pie. I use basically the crust recipe that was on the Crisco can for years. (1/3 C shortening for each cup of flour, pinch of salt, enough ice water to pull it into a nice dough). Since Crisco changed their shortening, I've switched to either lard, butter, or half & half of the two. I've been adding apple cider to apple pies for the last 20 years or so, my family loves it! But I use tapioca for thickening. Sorry, I can't give an exact recipe, I pretty much go by how it looks when the apples, cinnamon, sugar and tapioca are all mixed together. The amount of sugar depends on the apples, but it's probably pretty close to the amount called for in your recipe.

Oven is pre-heated to 450, turned down to 350 in a few minutes, 10 min maybe? There again, I just go by how it looks, I don't time it. I test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife through one of the air vents cut into the crust. When the apples are done, it comes out of the oven, onto a cooling rack.

Oh, and yes, use the bottom rack.

Anyhow, even when using very juicy apples and the extra cider, the bottom crust is always crisp. And I've never blind baked a crust for a fruit pie.

Rusty

Pie came up in a discussion of convection ovens, and that reminded me. All the "tricks" like baking on the bottom shelf, starting high and lowering, etc., are all meant to get heat to the bottom quickly and intensely, while the top is still cold, to get that bottom crust baked. That's also the reasoning (whether true or false, I don't know) behind the clear glass dish--though I think the really reason is probably that you could see if it wasn't baking. :) Using convection while baking a double crust pie is just asking for the top to be done way before the bottom. The convection actually stirs up and adds to all the heat above the pie. I wonder if that's where the bakers on the show went wrong?

I also was going to say too much liquid, but then I saw the huge amount of cornstarch. If you want to try this recipe again, I'd mix the cornstarch with the cider until it's dissolved, and then go on. Bottom rack, etc.

Next time I'll try the bottom rack trick. I think I remember doing that before, but it escaped my memory this time, and the recipe didn't suggest it. I bet I remember to do that from now on.

Sally

You can buy pie pans that have a perforated bottom. I've never used one but, from the reviews on Amazon, they work to prevent soggy, under-baked crust.

The major complaint seemed to be that they leaked after you cut into a juicy pie.

Well, Duh.

At least those complaints serve as a 'heads up' to plan accordingly.

Actually, I have a vintage carbon steel perforated pie pan but I've never used it because it is small. If I'm going to the trouble to make pie, I don't want to make a little pie.

No, I don't think I said anything about it leaking after being cut into. It's that it's soggy even before being cut into, you just notice it when you take a bite. I hadn't thought about a perforated bottomed pie pan. I don't have one, but it might be worth looking into.

Sally

Sally, I think it was the perforated pie pan that leaked if the pie has juice that escapes when a piece is cut out. :)

I like making the free-form pies; Crostatas. They bake directly on parchment lined baking sheet. I've had soggy apple pies baked in a pie plate, but never as a crostata.

And here I thought this thread was going to be about something entirely different....glad to see it's cooking.

Put me in the corner with the crust impaired. Will try these ideas next time I bake....might be a while, grin....