Finally figured out why my pie crust kept shrinking...

Been baking for about 3 years now and my apple pies always had this crust that would pull away from the edge after baking. Drove me nuts. Last week I watched a video from a baker in Portland who pointed out that resting the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling lets the gluten relax. I tried it and the crust stayed put. No more gap between the filling and the edge. Has anyone else found a trick that fixed a basic thing they were messing up for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

ross.jason26d ago

Overnight rest, huh? Never tried that before. Gonna give it a shot.

wren30726d ago

30 minute rest is good but you actually want to let the dough rest overnight if you can. The gluten relaxes more after a few hours. I used to do the 30 minute thing too and still had some shrinking, then a pastry chef told me to leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or even overnight. The cold butter also sets back up so the crust stays flaky. Also make sure you're not overworking the dough when you roll it out, that's another big one.