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Baking Tip of the Day
Graham cracker crusts can be soggy, crisp, or just right.
Tips on how to make a graham cracker crust to crisp perfection. Avoid soggy and hard crusts with these baking hints.
A chef’s hint is to beat an egg white to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped egg white into the graham cracker crumb mixture. Then, press the mixture into the pan. The protein in the egg white acts as a binder to hold the crumbs together so less butter is required.
A lightly beaten egg white brushed onto the inner surface of the graham cracker crust will create a layer between the crust and filling. This keeps the crust from becoming soggy from the moist filling.
Don’t skimp on the butter. Add enough butter to hold the crumbs together. Too much butter can make the crust hard but a few more tablespoons of butter is better than less.
To keep crusts from becoming hard, press the crumb mixture into the pan but don’t press too hard.
Graham cracker crusts do not need to be baked, but experts suggest baking graham cracker crumb crusts for about 8 to 10 minutes. This step can be helpful for keeping the crusts crispy and free from crumbling.
Baking the crust melts the sugar and this helps to set the crust so it won’t crumble.
Baking a graham cracker crust should be done at 375 degrees F. for 6 to 9 minutes.
When baking the crust cover the edge of the pie crust with a pie shield or make one with aluminum foil strips.
A perfect crust will be easy to cut and will be easily removed from the pan. To prevent the crust from sticking to the pan, lightly grease the pan with shortening, butter, or vegetable oil.
Author Marilyn Pokorney
Copyright Marilyn Pokorney 2022
