Oh! What I Have Learned!

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There are volumes documenting all that I don’t know, and a postcard describing what I do know. I discover, or am taught, new ideas daily.

Here are two things I didn’t know, but probably everyone else did.

  • A pie shield that doesn’t fall off during baking
  • A parchment paper liner for par baking that fits the pastry

Pie Shield to Protect the Edges of the Pie

I reviewed all the pie shields on Amazon and reviews of all of them complained about them falling off. This one creates a shield from a single sheet of aluminum foil that does not come off while baking.

Trace a circle ~1”larger than your pie plate (Use a skewer or chop stick)
Trace a smaller concentric circle ~1” smaller than your pie plate
Fold the square in half, then in half again
Cut out the circles
End up with a ring ~2 inches wide.
Wrap the foil around the edge of the crust

Contour forming parchment paper liner

Ever try to fit a piece of parchment paper to a pastry shell without deforming the pastry? The simple solution is to crumple the parchment paper then smooth out (at least two times.) For smaller pastries cut slits into the edges of the paper to allow it to fit into the smaller shells.

Parchment paper, curling up on the edges
Cut into a square then folded in half, diagonally.
Fold in half again,
Fold as many times as you can. Trim to ~2” longer than the radius of the pan.
Cut the folds on the end
Unfold and lengthen any cuts as required
Crumple and smooth, crumple and smooth again
Fit to the pie plate
Add pie weights.

Fold the parchment paper diagonally in half. Place a finger in the middle of the long side of the triangle and fold across your finger. Keep your finger in the same place and fold diagonally again. Fold one short side down the the long side and repeat. Cut the large end to make a triangle ~2 inches longer than the radius of your pie plate.

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