Can fruit pies be frozen after they are baked?
It's hard to resist the idea of saving some for later when fresh fruit is at its best.If you have a pie pan to spare, there's nothing better than freezing the whole pie.In the midst of the holiday rush, I'm always relieved when I can fall back on a ready-made pie.
Fruit pies that have been frozen have a denser, jammier texture than those baked right out of the gate, but they still have the same thickness and consistency.If you don't have enough space to freeze a whole pie, freshly baked pies made with frozen fruit are a great option.
If you have enough space, freezing the whole pie will allow you to whip it up at your own pace.It's important to start with the right kind of dough because not all recipes will freeze equally well.
It makes for a soggy, wet crust when doughs are lean and dry.Doughs formulated with a higher proportion of butter and water are less absorbent, so they're better able to resist soaking up moisture, even after long-term exposure to a juicy layer of raw fruit filling.If you're baking a frozen pie, I highly recommend my Old-Fashioned Flaky Pie Dough; it will always come out flaky and crisp.
I highly recommend glass or disposable aluminum pie pans because they affect how pie crust turns out more than you might think.
If you don't have the right equipment or dough, you can simply make your pie and chill it until the border is cold and firm.Wrap your pie in several layers of plastic and put it in the freezer.I recommend using a layer of foil to keep plastic wrap in place when it's cold.It will provide a final, more impermeable barrier against odor absorption, especially if your freezer is jam-packed with stinky things.
When you're ready to bake, unwrap the pie and rewrap it in a fresh layer of plastic, the old plastic may contain ice crystals that harbor funky odors, or can melt and give the top crust a blotchy appearance.Before baking, thaw the pie in the refrigerator at an internal temperature of about 40F (4C), and let it stand at room temperature until it warms to about 10 C.If the pie is starting to look too brown, cover it in foil and bake it until the interior is bubbling-hot; this may take a little longer than the recipe suggests.
Fruit pies will have a slightly jammier consistency, but the filling should be just as thick, and even more delicious, when the weather is cold and dreary.
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One of America's Best New Pastry Chefs is named by Food & Wine after our CIA-trained baking nerd and resident pastry wizard, Stella Parks.She is the cookbook author of BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, a New York Times best-seller.When she's not in the kitchen, she spends most of her time playing video games and polishing Star Trek quotes.
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The easiest way to make a pan pizza at home is with this cast iron pizza recipe.