FOR PIES & TARTS:

1. Before transferring the rolled dough to the pie or tart pan, dust off the excess flour on the top, with a pastry brush or lightly with your fingertips; it will taste bitter after baking if you don't. You do not have to grease the pie or tart pans.

2. There are several ways to transfer the dough to the pie pan, however, in both cases make sure you do not stretch or tear the dough when doing so: Fold & Lift the Dough, Roll Dough Around a Rolling Pin, and Invert the Dough. 

If the dough cracks or breaks, it  may be too warm or too cold and can be patched. If the dough too cold, let it sit for a few minutes at room temperature before fixing it. If too warm, patch and re-chill the dough for an hour; don't wad it up, instead just chill as is. 

To patch: You can patch tears in pastry by moistening both sides of the crack, and without overlapping them, just pinch or press back together. Large gaps can be patched with trimmings cut from the overhanging dough. Dab water around the edges of the crack and apply a piece of the dough.  

The following three techniques can be used for both fitting pie or tart dough in their respective pans, but for also placing the top crust on a filled pie: 

FIRST WAY- FOLD & LIFT THE DOUGH: Using your dough scraper, or spatula, gently lift up the edges and fold it in half onto itself, and slide both hands underneath to support it.  Lift the dough and position the fold of dough over the center of the pie pan and let it rest on one side, draping over the edge. Carefully unfold it to cover the other side, and letting it drape over the side. If the dough is too warm and tears, place the as is on a cookie sheet, patch and chill. Take out of fridge and let it soften a bit, and try again. 

For a two-crust pie: To top pie, fold the dough in half, and carefully lift to the pie. Place the center of the fold over the center of the pie, with the top and bottom of the fold touching both edges of the pie. Unfold it, drape evenly over the filling, and trim. Then fold the edge of the top crust under the bottom crust and flute it closed with your thumb. Cut vents.

SECOND WAY - ROLL DOUGH AROUND A ROLLING PIN: Some bakers roll the dough loosely onto a rolling pin, unless the dough is soft and sticky. To roll the dough onto the rolling pin, first place a floured rolling pin, centered on the edge nearest you. Roll away from you and at the same time pick up the edge (use a bench scraper or spatula if dough sticks to the countertop) and support the dough as you  wrap it around the pin, being careful not to press it. Keep rolling until all of the dough is rolled on the pin. Then, then drape the loose end over one edge of the pan and gently unroll, lowering it into the pan. 

For a two-crust pie: follow the steps right above for getting the top placed over the filling. Make sure it's evenly draped, and trim. Then fold the edge of the top crust under the bottom crust and flute it closed with your thumb. Cut vents.

THIRD WAY - INVERT THE DOUGH: This technique can be used for both fitting pie or tart dough in their respective pans, but not for placing the top crust on a filled pie - If you have sticky dough from sugar, cream cheese, and/or eggs, the dough will be soft and sticky and difficult to get into the pan. So, you have to invert a pan and place it in the middle of the dough and flip both right side to, still attached to its bottom piece of waxed or plastic wrap. The easiest way to get the dough in the pan is to first remove the top layer of waxed paper or plastic wrap used when rolling it out. Place an inverted pie pan centered in the middle of it. Then, while holding one hand under the middle of the dough (palm side up), with the other inside the pie pan (palm side down), flip both over. The dough should be draped in the pan; do not press it in. Let the dough fall where it may and leave the waxed paper and plastic wrap; you will adjust it in the next step.

3.  After getting the dough in the pan, lift up the edges of the dough and carefully ease it down into the corners of the pan. Gently press it around the perimeter of the pie pan with the heal of your hand that is adjacent to your thumb so the dough adheres to the bottom of the pan; do not press too hard. Then, do the same on the sides of the pan, this time with your fingertips or the back of your forefinger. A small floured ball of dough also works; lightly press it against the dough in the pie pan. It is important to press lightly, as the dough will later shrink during baking if you do it too hard or stretch it. 

If you have a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap attached, remove it by slowly peeling it off. If the dough is still too sticky or soft, refrigerate or quickly freeze both, and then afterwards, try and remove it again.

4.  Trim the excess dough around the edge of the pie using kitchen shears, which I find the easiest to use, or a sharp knife. Leave about an inch overhang for both a one-crust and a two-crust pie and 1/4-inch for a tart pan. (What to do with pie scraps.) 

FOR PIES: (For Tarts, see above).

5. One-Crust Pie:  Fold the excess dough underneath itself at the pie pan rim and even with the lip making a double layered edge. Go to Basics Step #7, below. 

For a Two-Crust Pie or Lattice Top: Chill the bottom pie crust for 1 to 2 hours, preferably 24, before filling. Skip Basics Step #s 7 & 8, and go to Basics Step #9.  

Fluting provides several purposes: as decoration and to provide a double layer of dough at the rim to help prevent burning or overflow. One of the easiest decorative borders to make is using a fork to make slash marks along the edges. You can leave the border plain for a rustic look, or crimp or flute the border. For more, go to: "How to Make Decorative Edges & Tops".   

If desired, reroll the scraps, chill and cut out decorative designs such as leaves. First brush tops with egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 to 2 teaspoons water) or cream or half-and-half (milk will work, too, but the others are better). Bake on a small baking sheet at 400 degrees for 6 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

Blind baking refers to baking an unfilled pie or tart shell to produce a partially or fully baked crust.  It is done when making cream pies or tarts if a fillings is particularly moist or where precooked fillings are part of the recipe. However, it's necessary to weigh the crust down as it bakes, so it doesn't bubble up; you can do this in a variety of ways. It is done by lining the dough with parchment paper or foil and filling it with pie weights or dried beans to hold its shape during baking. Another option is to set a perforated pie pan into the crust.   You'll end up with bottom pan, pastry dough, then perforated pan on top). When using, be careful not to press it down around your decorated edge.

When the crust and filling bake together, some bakers make a practice of partially baking their crust, filling and then baking again. This prevents the crust from becoming soggy from custard based fillings, such as those with pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie and quiche. Partial blind baking can be done in a recipe such as a Lemon and Coconut Custard Pie. The crust is completely baked for recipes where the filling is made or cooked separately, such as with a Lemon Meringue Pie.

Empty pie shells need to be weighed down during baking. Without the weight of a filling, a pastry shell set into a hot oven can shrink dramatically, fill with air pockets, and puff up resulting in a shrunken uneven shell that looks unfinished. 

To prevent this the dough is lined, with my favorite, aluminum foil, filled with weights and then baked. Some bakers use parchment paper or waxed paper, but I like foil because you can press it right against the sides of the crust. In addition, foil promotes better heat conduction or a more even browning of the pastry, which parchment or waxed paper do not. 

When lining the pastry shell, leave an excess of foil on all sides so you can fold it over the pie edges to protect them from getting too brown when baked. Fill ALMOST TO THE TOP with pie weights, pennies, rice or dried beans to hold its shape during baking. Metal pie weights or pennies outperform rice and beans because they are heavier, and thereby better able to keep the shell from puffing. Also, being made of metal, they are better conductors of heat helping the crust to brown better. 

Remove the crust from the oven; if any parts of it have bubbled up, press them down gently.

Optionally, with partial or complete baking of the pie crust, the bottom of it can be moisture proofed. This is done by brushing with a glaze to seal it, five minutes before it is done and then afterward, returning it to the oven for 5 minutes more. You can also moisture proof right after baking. The pie shell is then thoroughly cooled on a wire cake rack before using in the recipe. It can be stored or frozen, if not.

If not baked or partially baked, to ensure that a crust bakes on the bottom, the following tips really help. By working with oven temperatures, a baking sheet and baking your pie on the lowest rung, you should have good results.

PREHEAT THE OVEN: Pies are baked at higher temperatures (375 to 450 degrees F) than cakes bake at, so the rich pastry dries and becomes flaky and golden brown and the filling cooks all the way through.

You will bake your pie, for example, in a well preheated oven (450 degree F is best) in the middle of the shelf in the lower third of the oven or on its floor. (You will lower the heat to 350 degrees F when placing the pie in the oven). This allows for the bottom to cook thoroughly before the top crust browns. Convection ovens also work well as they circulate the hot air. As a rule of thumb, lower the temperature given in most recipes by 25 degrees F, as these ovens tend to bake hotter and quicker.

The intense heat is necessary for ending up with a perfectly baked and flaky pie crust, provided it is mixed, rolled and chilled adequately. In this way, the water quickly evaporates from pie and crust, allowing the crust to set faster than the fat melts. This way the the air-pockets are well-defined, created where the fat once was before it melts away, thus giving you a flakiness when you bite in into it.

There are a couple of things to prepare in advance: Before preheating the oven, adjust the oven shelf to the lowest rung and place a  foil covered pizza stone or a baking sheet on it.  Both do a good job with baking and browning the bottom crust, although the pizza stone does it best.  (If the pie crust top needs browning during baking, place it on the top shelf for the last 10 minutes of baking.) If using a pizza stone, preheat the oven for about 30 minutes so the tiles heat up.

When filling, there are a couple of types of pie crust shells you will use: chilled and not baked, or partially or fully blind-baked. Add it after the crust has chilled or cooled. If you fill a pie or tart shell with a moist filling, it will soak and soften the crust if not baked right away. This will also happen even if the crust is partially prebaked in Basics Step #8, so get it into the oven fast !!

Before filling the pie, protect the edges from over-browning: center the pan in a long criss-cross of foil and fill.  Right before baking, gather the foil around the pie pan, bringing it up and around its edges. There are also pie crust shields you can use. It is easier to do in advance of baking rather than taking the pie out of the oven halfway through and trying to cover the crust without burning yourself.

CHILLED PIE CRUST, NOT BAKED:

BLIND-BAKED (PREBAKED) PIE CRUST:

BAKE: The oven should be preheated oven to 450 degrees F as measured with an oven thermometer. Make sure the pizza stone or baking sheet has a chance to get hot before placing the cold pie on top, which takes about 30 minutes (don't let the pie sit out if the oven is not ready -- refrigerate it covered, not matter what type you have).  

Place the pie in the oven and immediately lower the heat to 350 degrees F. It will take the oven about 20 minutes to lower in temperature, and continue to bake it. Don't open the oven for 40 minutes. 

I got the sheen and the crisp, sweet top crust I wanted by brushing the pastry with egg white and sprinkling it with sugar if  I waited 20 minutes into the baking process. I discovered that it mattered when the pie got this "egg wash." If I applied it before baking, the fluting tended to bloat, losing the crisp, distinct shape. But when I applied it later, the pastry held its shape.

I would check the pie after about 45 minutes, then use your eyes to judge when it's done. Take pie or tart out when it has browned on top.  

For a juicy fruit pie, the crust should be golden brown and juices from the filling should be thick with a slow bubble. For an apple pie the crust will be golden and the apples tender when a small knife is inserted.

Custard pies are done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Be careful that the top does not burn.

When done, cool completely on a wire cake rack before serving. Allow the pie to cool on a rack to room temperature, or until barely warm, before slicing to ensure that the filling is set and will not run. This holds especially true for pie with fruit fillings. Cooling will take between 2 to 4 hours for a fruit pie, depending on its thickness. For a custard pie, let cool and chill immediately. Serve or store after baking.

Reheating Instructions:
In the oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place whole uncovered pie (or remainder) on a baking sheet in center of oven for approximately 15 minutes, until warmed to the touch.
In the Microwave: Remove portion of the pie you want to heat, from the pie tin and place on microwaveable container. Heat one slice approximately 20 seconds, or until just warmed.