The Trick For Getting The Best Bake From A Disposable Pie Dish
With all the effort required to create an amazing apple pie, you may feel inclined to use a disposable plate for added convenience. Next to streamlining the cleanup process regarding its consumption, if you're baking a dessert for a friend, you don't need to worry about handing over your favorite reusable pan for an extended period. However, there are some drawbacks to using disposable pie pans.
Oven-safe throw-away pie pans are made of aluminum unlike the baking mainstays made from glass, ceramic, or metal. Next to potentially altering the required cooking time, these pans are also quite bendable and may not be as reliable when holding the contents of your next blueberry or pumpkin pie. Luckily, there is a surefire way to prevent potential leaks and spills and create a perfectly baked pastry in a disposable pan.
The weight of your pie filling is no longer something you need to fret over thanks to metal baking sheets. After you line and fill your next disposable pie pan, place it on a pre-heated metal baking pan and bake. This flat sturdy surface prevents the dessert from spilling over the edge by safeguarding that thin aluminum base layer. Moreover, a preheated metal baking pan levels out baking times and ensures evenly cooked pie crusts.
Why you should always use a metal baking sheet with disposable pie pans
If you're dedicated to making the best cherry pie in a disposable pie pan, there's more than one reason to cook your confection on a preheated baking sheet. Besides keeping your filling level, the structural integrity will also be upheld, despite opening your oven to check your dessert's level of doneness. Next to keeping it safe and secure, metal baking pans hold heat well and transfer this heat to the bottom of aluminum pans.
To achieve a well-baked pie, the liquid-based contents should partially cook down and evaporate so the exterior crust isn't left mushy or soft. Unfortunately, flimsy aluminum pans aren't the best heat conductors. If you bake a prepared pastry in a disposable pan with no extra help from a trusted sheet pan, you might wind up with a version that has an undercooked base. To ensure an evenly cooked crust from the bottom up, bake them on a hot baking sheet at the recipe's recommended temperature. You'll be left with perfectly golden pastry, inside and out. Add some extra baking time to prevent undercooked crust for an even bake that includes your pie's base and exterior walls.
What else you need to know about baking pies in aluminum pans
While throw-away pie pans require little cleanup, you may need to adjust your usual preparation and baking protocol. Disposable pans seem to hold less volume than standard reusable pans. For this reason, you may need to spread out your filling over two aluminum pans instead of one. You simultaneously prevent overfilling and have more room to adjust the exterior dough nicely along the edges of your pan.
Even though you may be utilizing a metal baking sheet to help evenly cook your desserts, you may need to tack on some additional cooking time. For example, coconut cream pie requires a pre-baked shell and may result in a partially cooked crust. The walls of your pastry shell need extra cooking time since there is no direct contact with the well-heated baking sheet. Increase baking time up to 10 additional minutes. For double-crust versions, consider increasing the baking time by 10 extra minutes and use the aluminum foil hack to save the edges of your pie crust.
Whether or not you adjust your filling and cooking times, in the future, line your disposal pie pans with a metal baking sheet for more even bakes.