Do you freeze your pies ahead of time?

[PunkinPeep]

I'm thinking about Christmas. And i have fresh fruit now. So i'm thinking about making the whole pie - crust and everything - and then freezing it without baking so i can pull it out on the 23rd and bake it.

But i've never done this before. Has anyone else? The one i'm thinking about now will be an apple/pear pie.

I would love some advice.

Thanks!

 

[jojo54]

I'm thinking about Christmas. And i have fresh fruit now. So i'm thinking about making the whole pie - crust and everything - and then freezing it without baking so i can pull it out on the 23rd and bake it.

But i've never done this before. Has anyone else? The one i'm thinking about now will be an apple/pear pie.

I would love some advice.

Thanks!

I used to do it all the time when I made pies when my kids were young. I would freeze them completely ready for the oven. When I baked them frozen, I would bake them longer and about 25 degrees cooler oven. I also would cover the crust edge with tin foil so it wouldn't overbrown. About halfway through I would take off the foil so the edge will brown some. They were great. I would spend one day making piecrust and filling the pies and then we would have fresh pie all winter. I lived in Saskatchewan so did not have the selection of fruit growing that we have here in BC. I would make apple, saskatoon, or rhubarb pies plus I would make what I called a bumble pie that I put all the mixed fruit I had (some of each of the above and maybe even some starwberries, blueberries or raspberries if I had some too.)

 

[BlackThumb]

I did that this year with apple pies. Unfortunately, the door of the freezer was left open overnight, and while things remained very cold, I discovered on Thanksgiving, that the juice and thickener had all settled to the bottom. The diners thought it was a special filling, so I left them to their imaginations! Otherwise, fruit pies are terrific frozen ! I thawed mine for two hours before baking.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Oh Thank you both!

That's exactly the kind of advice i needed.

Blackthumb, after you thaw them for two hours, do you bake them the normal time and temperature?

Jojo, i hope one day that our trees start producing, and we can have all those wonderful pies year round too. How wonderful!

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[HiDelight]

If I know I am going to eat the pie in the next couple of weeks
I bake it entirely then leave it to completely cool freeze on a cookie sheet then put into tightly wrapped plastic ...just thaw out of the wrap and warm it in the oven

honestly wonderful quick and easy to do!

but you have to eat them quickly they do not freeze well for more than a month imho

 

[PunkinPeep]

Oh, i hadn't thought of that at all.

Thanks, HiD!

 

[HiDelight]

your welcome
the finest bakeries freeze baked pastries that is why they are always "fresh" no one can afford to bake what you see in the case every day fresh

breads yes fresh is always best!

... but pastries of all kinds may be baked and frozen as long as they are not allowed to sweat

that is why the COMPLETE cool down and thaw in a nice dry place with good air circulation then pop in the oven and

YUM I want a pie now!

ETA

the filling is not degraded in anyway..the fruit stays perfect .. unless you used cornstarch for filling and please dont this does not hold up!

but tapioca, potato starch or a flour butter mix holds the filling perfectly in the freezer

 

[ducks4you]

Everbody has their own taste preferences, but NO, I don't freeze them ahead of time. To save time for the following pies:
--apple
--cherry
--lemon merangue
--pumpkin/sweet potato
I do the following~
--buy cans of cherries way back in September/October (unfortunately my 3 cherry trees are too immature to contribute
--can apple pie filling (I cut the apples and measure sugar/cinnamin/nutmeg, then open can into a bowl, add the flour, pour into fresh shell and dot with butter)
--buy/can pumpkin filling ingrediants ahead of time

Some people don't mind frozen pie crusts, but I REALLY like them fresh. Hope this helps!

BTW, After the holidays there are a lot of cans of sweet potatoes left on the shelf (at least, this has been so in the past.) They make a great pie!