The Best Blueberry Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best thickener for blueberry pie? ›

Instant tapioca.

this is one of my pie-making must haves. I absolute adore the flavor it adds to fruit pies! However, if you don't keep it on hand, tapioca flour/starch, arrowroot powder cornstarch or flour also work well in this recipe!

Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie. you should probably get: Pie weights are super helpful to have for pre-baking.

How do I keep a berry pie from being runny inside? Berry pies need starch to help thicken the filling because berries give off a lot of juice when they cook. For a typical nine inch pie, you need two tablespoons of flour, cornstarch, or tapioca starch.

Cornstarch makes for a shiny, glossy filling. A little goes a long way because it has twice the gelling power of flour. Flour thickens nicely but leaves more of a matte finish. You'll need to use twice as much as you would with cornstarch.

Precook the filling

But by cooking apples, sugar, spices, and thickener just long enough for the apples to release their juice and the thickener to do its work — typically, 5 to 10 minutes over a burner — you reduce the risk of those same juices pooling in the bottom of the crust as your pie bakes.

Non-chilled crust is fairly crumbly and less smooth, which makes it harder to roll out and means it may not look as polished. It will brown more quickly and the final product will likely be tougher, heavier, and more doughy – none of those in a bad way. It will likely have a more intense, butter flavor.

With docking, the holes allow steam to escape, so the crust should stay flat against the baking dish when it isn't held down by pie weights or a filling. Otherwise the crust can puff up, not only impacting appearance but also leaving you with less space for whatever filling you have planned.

Line the crust with foil, parchment, or a paper coffee filter. Fill it about two-thirds full with dried beans, uncooked rice (or other uncooked grain berries), pie weights, or granulated sugar. Bake the crust in a preheated 375°F oven for 20 minutes, set on a baking stone or steel if you have one.

The cardinal rules of pie dough: Keep it cold, work fast, and don't overwork your dough.

What shelf should you bake a pie on in the oven? ›

A pie's place in the oven is on the bottom rack. The worst mistake you can make with your pie is under-baking the bottom crust—it makes for a soggy, doughy mess. Baking your pie on the bottom rack will ensure that bottom crust gets nice and golden brown. Speaking of which: bake your pie in a glass pie dish.

The center oven rack is ideal for baking cakes and other desserts. However, to achieve the flaky and crispy underside of a pie, positioning the racks lower in your oven can help avoid an undercooked crust.

A fruit pie is ready to be pulled from the oven when its juices are bubbling in the center of the pie, not just the sides! Especially if it is a very juicy pie, make sure those bubbles are have a slower, thick appearance to them, as opposed to the faster, more watery bubbles that appear on the edges of a pie at first.

Fruit pies keep at room temperature for two days; you can store them, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days longer. (In warm climates, always store fruit pies in the refrigerator.)

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed. We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies.

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency.

Tapioca-it's not just for pudding! This old-school ingredient may be what your great grandmother used to thicken her pies, and it's still great for making a perfect fruit pie with a clear, stable filling. Tapioca is derived from cassava (also known as yuca or manioc), a starchy root native to South America.

It needs at least 2 hours to finish setting up after you pull the hot pie out of the oven. If you cut into a hot fruit pie right away, it's definitely going to be runnier than if you let it set up all the way. Another reason why blueberry pie might be runny is that it just didn't bake long enough.

Uses: Tapioca “is flavorless and gives fruit and fruit juices a glossy shine,” Chattman says, making it a favorite alternative to cornstarch in pies. Or get the best of both worlds: “Juices thickened with both cornstarch and tapioca become satiny and smooth, an appealing combination,” she says.