Today is Pi Day and although the day is based on the famous mathematical concept, a lot of us are focusing on, well, pies.
Perfect with a summer salad or as part of a hearty winter dinner, pies are a year-round staple and usually a pretty solid crowd pleaser as the filling can be so versatile.
However, as any keen baker or Great British Bake Off fan will know, there’s often one problem: soggy bottoms. You can try all of the tricks in the book and still find yourself with the dreaded soggy bottom, ruining your efforts.
However, of course, Mary Berry has a solution.
If there’s anything oor Mary is great for, it’s making baking as accessible as possible, and instead of recommending expensive tools or ingredients to avoid a soggy bottom, her advice is very simple.
In her book, Mary Berry Everyday, Mary wrote: “Adding a strip of pastry to the edge of the pie dish helps raise the pastry a little and prevents it from going soggy during cooking.
“Don’t re-knead the trimmings – lay them on top of each other and then roll, as this keeps the layers in the pastry intact.”
So, the secret to no soggy bottom is actually... Not having the pie touch the bottom of the dish. This makes sense!
Additionally, make sure that the filling has cooled completely before putting it in the pie as, according to Mary, any residual heat will start melting the pastry and cause it to sink when baking in the oven.
What’s worse than a soggy bottom? No bottom.
Finally, make sure that when you’ve filled your pie, you make a small slit in the top so steam can escape and the top of the pie can crisp up evenly.
Happy Pi Day!
