Pies have been around since there have been ovens, or at least very nearly as long. They have been around so long that now they come in many different varieties and all sorts of shapes and sizes.
From thin quiches with only a little crust to open-top pumpkin pies to fully crust meat pies, there are simply too many pies to count.
One of the most cooked and eaten is a deep dish pie, and this is cooked using a deep dish pie pan. However, how deep is a deep dish pie pan exactly? Is it actually that deep, or just the name of the pie?
In this article, we are going to explore deep dish pie pans, see exactly how deep they go, and why they are so popular for making pies.
What Is A Pie?
A pie is a kind of baked dish that is made of a type of pastry dough – normally shortcrust or puff pastry.
This pastry is used to encase a group of ingredients – called the filling – within it somewhere.
This can be that the pastry is on top of the filing – with the filling contained by the pastry and pan (like a pot pie) -, the pastry is underneath the filing – with the filling being exposed to the oven and the pastry being in contact with the pan (like a pumpkin pie) -, or the filling being wrapped completely in the filling – like a Cornish pasty or meat pie.
Pies can come in a multitude of different flavors and are generally separated into sweet and savory pies.
Sweet pies are normally filled with a main ingredient of fruit, nuts, brown sugar, thickened sauces (like custard), or sweetened vegetables (like rhubarb).
Savory pies are normally filled with a main ingredient of meat, eggs and cheese, vegetables, or a combination of meat and vegetables.
The biggest defining factor of a pie is the crust itself. Depending on the kind of pastry you use, the size of the pie pan, and the length of time or method you cook it for or with will depend on the kind of crust you get.
For example, if the crust is smaller, less tall, and blind baked before making a pie in it, you will get a Quiché crust. Of course, the amount of ingredients and what they are plays an important factor in this as well.
What Is A Deep Pie Dish And How Deep Is It?
A deep pie dish is a pie dish that allows for more filling and requires a thicker crust in order to remain stable as a solid pie – without resulting in leaks or cracks in its surface.
This is because the more you increase the amount of filling, the more likely the pie crust’s structure is to be compromised – due to it being in essence the pie’s structure itself.
Normally, a deep pie dish will be about 1.5 to 2 inches in depth. This is directly related to the diameter of the pie dish and varies depending on it, with a 10-inch pie dish having a deeper depth than an 8-inch pie dish.
This correlates to how a pie should hold together. Have a deeper pie dish than necessary (with little width) and the crust will start to crack, the ingredients will bubble over, or it will be too thick, and you will struggle to cut into it.
Have a wider pie dish than necessary (with little depth) and your pie will be very dry, the ingredients will be congealed, and they may also bubble over during cooking.
What Kinds Of Pies Are Deep Pie Dishes Good For?
Any thick crusted pie is good to make in a deep pie dish, sweet or savory. So, any kind of pie that is like a chicken pie, apple pie, or a pumpkin pie is good to make in a deep dish pie pan.
This is because they tend to use a lot of filling and that filling needs space to cook without exploding out of the pie, which is perfect in a deep dish.
However, one thing you should always make note of is that these pies tend to use shortcrust pastry. This doesn’t make shortcrust better, but it’s just it does not rise that much.
For example, puff pastry puffs out and while this is good if it is just the crust on the top, it can cause problems if it forms a crust on the bottom and sides as well.
Alternatively, if you were making a crustless pie, then a deep pie dish is also perfect, as long as you are not going to display it.
They tend to be thick and help hold the shape of most fillings, which is great in these circumstances, it’s just that you will also need to cut them directly from the pan in this scenario.
Where Can I Buy A Deep Dish Pie Pan?
You can buy them from most supermarkets, like Walmart. Any big store that sells food often has a section for cookware as well.
Another place you can go is a shop that sells cookware specifically, this is more for professionals, but it means that their products are high end.
If you are looking just to have a deep pie pan and don’t mind where it comes from, then you can always search online. There are always sales on and many online retailers will give you a good price for a pan such as this.
The one problem with this method though is that you can’t verify the quality of these pie pans before you buy them. As such, they may not come in the best state.
Conclusion
A deep dish pie pan is normally about 1.5 to 2 inches deep, but it depends a lot on the diameter of the pan as well. If you want to use a deep dish pie pan to cook with, it is worth checking what kind of pie you are cooking before committing to one.
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
