I have tried putting pastry dishes onto hot baking tays or direct on to the oven shelf, used glass, tin and enamel but I still seem to have a wet patch at the centre of my pastry. Why? it's almost as if it's uncooked but I know that it is cooked. Should I brush the bases with egg white, let it dry and then bake? Stella
Our answer
We are not sure if you are baking your pies or tarts "blind" or already filled, but we are assuming that they already have a filling in them and this may be the cause of the soggy pastry crust as some of the liquid from the filling in the pie or tart will leak into the pastry causing the base to be slightly soggy.
For flans, tarts and quiches it is best to cook the pastry base first, without the filling. This is known as "baking blind". Once the dish has been lined with the pastry dough chill it well. Just before baking line the pastry filled dish with a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment (parchment paper) and fill the base this with baking beans or rice, making sure the beans or rice come up the sides of the pastry base to prevent the sides from collapsing in. Baking beans can be special ceramic ones designed for baking, or can be regular dried beans or rice but please note that you will not be able to cook the beans or rice after using them for baking (you can however keep them in a jar and use them time and again for baking). Bake the pastry at the temperature recommended for your recipe (for regular shortcrust pastry this is usually 200c/400F and for sweet pastry 180c/350F) for around 20 minutes, until the edges of the pastry are lightly golden. Remove the dish from the oven and carefully lift out the paper and beans, then return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes, or until the base of the pastry looks dry. You can the fill the pastry base and bake the filling. Some people like to paint the surface of the pastry base with lightly beaten egg white after the beans have been removed and before returning the dish to the oven as the egg white cooks onto the surface of the pastry and can act as a slight sealant to help to keep the pastry crisp. We tend to prefer to use fluted metal flan/quiche tins (with loose bottoms) for tarts as the metal heats up very quickly which cooks the pastry well and gives an attractive presentation when the tin is removed.
Double crust pies are not usually blind baked first and so will tend to have less crisp bases. It can help to pre-cook the filling first, particularly fruit, as you can drain off any excess liquid coming from the filling before putting it into the pie. This will reduce the liquid leaking into the pastry when the pie is baked. However make sure the filing is thoroughly cooled before adding it to the pie as a warm filling will also lead to soft pastry. Pie dishes are now usually made of heavier materials, such as Pyrex, ceramic or earthenware, and there is litte difference in the performance of the different types.
“Other times it's too much water. It [also] depends on how much butter is in the pastry. It can be solved by putting it into the fridge for a few hours!”
If you pour the egg custard into an unbaked crust, the liquid is unfortunately going to seep into the crust, preventing it from crisping up. The simple solution is to blind-bake the crust before adding the custard. Follow This Tip: Blind-bake the pie crust before pouring in the custard to ensure a crisp, flaky crust.
And finally, the most frustrating pastry problem of all – the soggy bottom. This normally happens when the oven is not hot enough or the pastry is not baked for long enough. However, it can also be because too much water was added to the dough.
The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.
To prevent them becoming soggy, shortcrust pastry cases need to be partially cooked before adding moist fillings. This process, known as blind baking, which seals the surface and results in a crisp pastry case.
One of my very favorite kitchen tricks is to brush a bottom pie crust with an egg white wash before filling. This keeps the filling from seeping into the crust and creating a soggy bottom.
Yes, you can use just milk or cream as a wash on baked goods. You can also use oil or butter, and they all can give you that same crispy golden coating that eggs provide. You can apply these substitutes with a pastry brush, just like you would with an egg wash.
And yes, as you'll see, you should always prebake quiche crust to avoid a gummy pastry. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Roll out your homemade or purchased refrigerated dough into a 12-inch circle.
"Some vegetables, such as sliced large tomatoes or raw zucchini, have a high water content and will make your quiche soggy (even if you follow all steps to avoid this!)," Davila notes.
This 'sealing' prevents the tart filling from softening the crust over time. You can do this immediately by brushing the still warm crust with a little beaten egg white. Or you can spread a thin layer of warmed apricot glaze, or even melted chocolate, over the pastry once it has completely cooled.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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