5 Surefire Ways To Prevent A Leaky Pie Crust

Making a pie fully from scratch, crust and all, is a fun and fulfilling activity — and one that ends with you getting to enjoy the delicious fruits of your labor. However, making the perfect pie is no easy feat, with there being plenty of hurdles that you may have to overcome. One of those hurdles is the possibility of a leaky pie crust, which refers to a crust that has developed cracks during the blind-baking process (when you par-bake the crust on its own before adding the filling). Ultimately, these cracks may lead to the filling seeping out of the pie during baking.

To find out the best tips and tricks to avoid a leaky pie crust, Daily Meal spoke with an expert: Lasheeda Perry — dubbed "The Queen of Flavor" — an award-winning pastry chef who "Beat Bobby Flay." Perry shared five tips to keep in mind next time you make your own pie crust.

First things first, you need to get the thickness just right for your pie crust. Lasheeda Perry says, "Your pie crust should be about ⅛ inch thick. A crust that's too thick will be heavy and underbaked, while one that's too thin may tear and cause leakage."

Luckily, there's a genius coin hack that will perfectly measure the thickness of the pie crust: Two quarters stacked on top of each other measure up to just about ⅛ of an inch, which is the exact thickness that you need. Just grab those quarters and keep them nearby while you're rolling out the dough for an easy reference.

Lasheeda Perry explains, "Always work with chilled dough. Once placed in the pie pan, refrigerate or freeze it before baking. A well-chilled crust holds its shape and prevents shrinkage." Essentially, this is because the fat in the dough will harden when chilled, thus allowing it to keep its structure while baking. The fastest way to adequately chill it is to pop it in the freezer for about 45 minutes before the baking step.

Similarly, the ingredients that you're using should be cold when you're putting together the crust. Many recipes call for you to bring butter to room temperature before adding them to a mixture — but not pie crusts. Using cold butter (and cold water) is the key to a flaky crust because it prevents too much gluten development (which would result in a denser texture). If you accidentally bring your butter to room temperature out of habit, don't fret — you can pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before starting, as we advise in our recipe for a hearty all butter whole-wheat pie crust.

As mentioned, blind baking is when you partially bake the crust on its own before adding the filling and continuing to bake. Or, it may mean baking the crust fully if it's a no-bake pie filling. The purpose of blind baking is to ensure that the crust is sturdy and fully baked, rather than soggy and underbaked. It does this by lining up the bake times for your crust and filling to finish.

According to Lasheeda Perry: "Blind bake at 375°F for a crisp, flaky crust. Once the filling is added, lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Proper baking ensures a golden crust and a perfectly set filling with a slight jiggle in the center."

During this step, it also helps to use pie weights, which are small weighted balls that you place on top of the pie crust (with parchment paper underneath the weights) to make sure that the crust keeps its shape. If you don't own any pie weights, you can also use dried beans.

Once the blind baking step is out of the way, you may be eager to add the filling and pop it right back in immediately — after all, the sooner it's back in the oven, the sooner it will be ready to eat. However, this could mess up the pie.

Lasheeda Perry says, "After par-baking, allow the crust to cool completely before adding the filling. Pouring filling into a warm crust can cause it to crack, as it's still fragile and hasn't fully set." In other words, adding the filling too soon can result in the very thing we're trying to avoid: A leaky crust.

Instead, give the crust at least 30 minutes to cool down. To help pass the time, you can wait until the crust is out of the oven before you even start putting the filling together. Trust us, it will be worth the wait.

After you've put in all of the hard work to make pie, you'll want to enjoy the dessert at its best. Lasheeda Perry explains, "For the best texture, serve your pie within two days. The longer it sits, the soggier the crust becomes."

It's also important to know how to store leftover pie, as the method of storage varies depending on the type. Fruit pies can be stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap or a pie dome cover. Fittingly, these pies will last two days when stored on the counter. Although fruit and custard pies will last up to five days when stored in the fridge, as per Perry's advice, you don't want an overly soggy crust and risk leakage.