Full question
I seem to have problems with pastry/pie crust baking in a glass pie dish - my most recent experience was with the Honey Pie recipe. Should I do something different to ensure that the middle gets cooked? Can I blind bake the honey pie crust or should I invest in a tin?
Our answer
Nigella makes her Honey Pie (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) in a fluted metal tart/flan tin. These pans heat up very quickly so that the pastry cooks and colours easily and the filling heats through fairly evenly. Putting the tin on a preheated baking sheet also helps to make sure that the base of pastry crust cooks properly and is not soggy. These tins are usually loose-bottomed so it is easy to remove the pie, still on the tin base, and cut into slices.
Ovenproof glass pie dishes are uesful as it is possible to see when the pie crust has achieved a good colour. However glass heats up slowly in comparison with metal and often you need to bake a pie in this type of dish at a slightly lower temperature for a longer time. We would also warn that it is not recommended to put a glass dish onto a hot baking sheet, as this can cause the glass to crack. So we would prefer to suggest buying a metal tart tin and you will find that it is useful for other desserts, such as the No-Fuss Fruit Tart and Salted Chocolate Tart. If you stick with your glass dish then we would suggest checking the manufacturer's instructions for advice on temperature and time adjustments and put the dish on a cold baking sheet before baking in the oven.
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