Cafe 290 Buttermilk Pie, photo © Mike Sutter / Fed Man Walking

Lots of us love pie, but  we’re scared to make the pastry at home.

I suspect it’s because we think it ought to be easy: crust + filling + baking = pie.

It seems like easy math, but things–little things–can go awry and there goes all hope of a perfect pie.

Don’t give up so easily.

Following are a few pie-making tips we hope will be helpful the next time you get a hankering for something sweet or savory in a flaky crust.

By the way, if you have suggestions for making a great pie, please add them in the comments. We’d love to hear what you do.

The dough sticks to the rolling pin.
This is a common problem for many pie-makers. One easy remedy is to chill the dough thoroughly before rolling it.  Of course with all the fat in the dough, it will be a little brittle when it first comes out of the refrigerator, but it will become workable very quickly.  Dusting the counter and rolling pin with flour helps, but you have to be very careful not to add too much additional flour to the dough or it will become tough. Consider rolling your dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper; n o sticking and it makes transferring the dough to the pie plate that much easier.

My crust has a soggy bottom.
Been there. There are a couple of things you might try to avoid the flabby bottom crust. You can brush a little beaten egg white on the bottom crust before adding the filling.  If you have a single crust pie, you can partially cook the crust before adding the filling. I suppose you can partially cook the bottom crust of a two crust pie so long as you are  not that particular about the seal between the two crusts.

My crust is too pale or it burned!
Ack! Everyone’s oven is different, so look at temperatures in recipes as a guideline than a hard and fast rule. I had an oven once that was fifty degrees hotter than what the dial indicated! I burned a lot of food before I finally bought an oven thermometer and adjusted accordingly. Even when the temperature is perfect, a crust can burn, so to avoid the problem, put foil along the outer crust for the majority of baking and remove it for the last 20 minutes so it can brown.  If your crust is too pale, you can increase the oven temperature, or brush the crust with milk or beaten egg wash. Also adding a little sugar to the flour before adding the fat can help put a brown glow on your crust.

My fruit pie is a sloppy mess.
That can happen. Some experts recommend cooking up to two-thirds of the filling in advance to thicken it up. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for two to three minutes. Afterwards stir in the raw fruit. Even though it’s partially cooked, you’ll still have chunks of the raw fruit for that nice toothsome texture. Sprinkling the bottom of the crust with breadcrumbs or crushed cookies will absorb extra moisture, and add a nice texture.

My custard pie looks like it has the grand canyon running through it.
Custard will crack. A too  hot oven or over baking are the two usual culprits of cracking. What happens is the edges finish cooking before the center and when the pie cools, it shrinks, pulls apart and then–you got it–it cracks. Cooking custard pies in a moderate oven and even in a water bath will help prevent this problem. Also remove the custard pie while it’s still a little jiggly in the center; it will finish cooking. If  you let the pie puff-or souffle–you’ve waited too long.