The Perfect Pie Pan for Baking Your Thanksgiving Pies

The Perfect Pie Pan for Baking Your Thanksgiving Pies.
Ceramic, stone-ware, glass or aluminum foil.
Guess which is the perfect pan!

 

Way back in time, I chronicled my odyssey to The Perfect Pie Crust. If you’ve read the not-very-serious journal, you know I never reached pie crust heaven.

No Julia Child here. I’m not even embarrassed to admit that I’ll never make pie crust like my sister-in-law’s.

But I haven’t given up. I’m still on the quest to learn new secrets that might get me to the foot of the pedestal. If not on it.

And now, dear friends, I found out that the type of pan makes a difference.

How could I not have known that till now?

So we did some Cliff’s Notes research (because we have to get busy making Thanksgiving pies.)

 

 

The Perfect Pans for Baking Pie

Even I know that Pyrex glass pie pans* bake better pies than heavier ceramic or pottery pie pans. The heavier pans take so long to heat up that “the flaky butter oozes out of place and never truly cooks through, resulting in a bottom crust that’s dense and soft rather than layered and crisp.” seriouseats.com

I don’t have clear glass Pyrex pie pans.

 

 

I have recycled Marie Callendar’s aluminum pie pans. When we treat ourselves to a Razzleberry Pie (The Best Pie Ever), I save the pans. They’re sturdier than disposable foil pans, and much cheaper than Pyrex pie pans.

And seriouseats.com says, “I’d never actually used aluminum, disposable or otherwise, to bake a pie, because so many recipes (like lemon meringue and Key lime) require a nonreactive plate. Therefore, in my tiny kitchen, it’s always seemed more convenient to stock simple glass plates instead. But I needed to know: If glass is better than stoneware because it conducts heat so fast, does it follow that aluminum is even better?”

 

 

Her testing uncovered the fantastic truth: “an aluminum pan is without a doubt a fantastic vessel for pie, giving my crust the best browning and texture of all.”

However, unless she’s baking pies to go, she sticks by her tempered glass Pyrex pie pans.

And I’ll stick by my recycled Razzleberry pie pans.

 

Which are you tried-and-true pie pans?

Share your hard-earned wisdom with us.