Damn Soggy Bottom!

This was my fourth week making a berry pie. I'm trying to get the berries soft without making the filling runny, and preventing the bottom crust from getting soggy. This have proved to be a difficult task.

Yes, I added raspberries this time.

You can see from the picture above that the bottom crust was overwhelmed by the berry juice.

The one adjustment that I've made since last week, is that I blind baked the bottom crust a little longer, hoping that it would get crispier. I also left a little bit of excess dough on the edges compared to last week.

Blind baked at 250°F for 15 minutes

I put the cold filling in minutes after the crust was taken out of the oven. After finishing the lattice top, the pie was ready to be baked at my parents' place.

All wrapped up and ready to go!

Again, I couldn't tuck in the strips as the bottom crust hardened at this point.

Baked at 425°F for 28 minutes

It tasted really good. The berries were soft but the filling was not runny; the top crust was crispy; but the bottom crust was soggy.

Looking back, I think I put the filling in too soon. The bottom crust should have been left at room temperature longer, after the blind baking process, to allow the crust to harden. Putting in the filling quickly may have allowed the juice to seep in the soft warm crust. Another adjustment I'll make in my next berry pie include patching up areas where it got forked during blind baking, to ensure juice does not seep in.

I may have to perfect this pie at another time. I've been asked several times by my friend (and now a co-worker), to make a double bottom chocolate strawberry pecan pie. I've never worked with any of these ingredients, so it'll be interesting how it comes out. I may have to travel to the Land of Chocolate.