You know that feeling. The feeling of cutting into a fruit pie and seeing runny liquid all over the pan. We’ve all been there. But follow these tips and you won’t ever have that feeling again! And even if you forget and you do end up with a runny pie (sigh!)…I’ve got the solutions to help you fix it.
In general, bake your pie the entire time the recipe calls for, follow the measurements exactly, and let the pie cool completely before cutting into it. But if you bake your pie and it’s STILL runny try letting it cool down (if you haven’t yet) and it will likely thicken as it cools, put it back in the oven again to activate the thickener or drain off some of the liquid off and then put it back in the oven. The last resort is to remove the filling, put it in a pan on the stove, add cornstarch, and thicken it up.
Baking a pie so you don’t get a runny filling can sound a bit overwhelming but it isn’t. Not at all. Let me break down some of the need-to-know stuff so you’ll find pie baking easy peasy.
One of the chief reasons bakers end up with apple soup under the crust is failure to bake their pie long enough. There’s almost no such thing as over-baking an apple pie; I’ve baked apple pies for 2 hours and longer, and they turn out just fine.
Let the fruit sit in sugar before baking the pie.
An easy trick that helps eliminate extra liquid in fruit pies before they hit the oven is to put the fruit into a colander, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sugar on the fruit, stir it up, and let the liquid drain off.
Don’t lose all that yummy liquid! You can save it for syrups, coffee, or ice cream.
Cool the pie completely.
Some thickeners continue thickening for up to 24 hours after coming out of the oven. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes pie makers make, apart from not cooking their pie long enough, is not cooling their pie.
Let fruit pies cool for at least 3 hours before slicing them. In fact, I recommend letting a pie cool overnight if you find it to be slightly runny. You’ll most likely find that the pie will set up during the cooling time. Problem solved!
The Biggest Mistakes Everyone Makes When Baking Apple Pie
FAQ
Why is my apple pie filling watery?
Why is there water in my apple pie?
What causes a runny pie?
How do you fix a watery apple pie after baking Reddit?
Why is my apple pie watery?
If your filling, crust, and baking pan are cold when you put them in the oven, the sudden temperature change will initially dehydrate your pie, leaving less moisture to be released further along. Precook the filling to let the excess juice evaporate. By simmering the apple filling for 15 minutes, you can prevent your pie from becoming watery.
How do you keep a pie from getting watery?
Choose tart apples. When you cook apples, the pectin in them breaks down, making the apples watery. The lower pH value of tart apples reduces the amount of pectin that breaks down, so the apples hold their shape and get less mushy. This will prevent your pie from getting watery. Your best apple choices are Granny Smith, Gala, and Golden Delicious.
Why is my apple pie crust soggy?
To prevent this outcome, keep your pie dough -whether homemade or store-bought- in the fridge until your filling is completely ready for use. Another reason for a soggy apple pie crust is baking it on the wrong oven rack. Most people choose the middle rack for this job, but that’s not going to give you the crisp, firm texture you want.
What happens if you put apples in a pie filling?
As your pie is inside the oven cooking, the apples in the filling will shrink and release air. This is more likely to happen when using raw apples in the filling. If you don’t create a vent route for this hot air, it’ll push down the filling and create a gap between the filling and the top of the crust.