During the Christmas season, I was often overwhelmed by the quantity of baking I had to make in a short period of time. This prompted me to learn how to bake many pies in the oven at the same time in order to increase my baking output in the kitchen.
To bake numerous pies evenly, leave them in the oven for 5-10 minutes longer than necessary to compensate for the heat loss caused by many pies in the oven. Place the pies on the center rack of the oven and bake at the same temperature specified in the pie directions.
This, however, was not an easy talent to master. I had to do a lot of experimentation to figure out how to bake numerous pies at once. This is why I decided to discover the difference between baking many pies in various kinds of ovens!
Contents
Is it okay to bake many pies at once?
As a general rule, baking many pies in the oven at the same time is OK. Since there are two or more pies in the oven at the same time, the oven temperature drops. The temperature drops as the number of pies in the oven increases. Leave the pies in the oven for another 5-10 minutes to thoroughly bake.
So far, the best way for baking numerous pies that I’ve tested is to use an upside-down baking sheet wrapped in aluminum foil. What you must do is as follows:
- Find a long baking pan that can fit all of your pies
- Turn the baking pan upside down
- Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil
- Place the unbaked pies on top of the foil
- Make sure that all pies are standing evenly
- Preheat the oven to the degrees in the pie recipes
- Place the baking pan on the middle rack of the oven
- Close the oven lid begin baking the pies
- Check to make sure that the pies are baking evenly
Make sure the pies are sufficiently separated from one another and from the oven walls!
I’ve been making pies for a long time, and I’ve found that not every baker is aware of the concept of pie weights. Pie weights are little ceramic balls that are placed into the pie crust before baking to keep it from blowing up.
I’ve used Ceramic Pie Weights for as long as I can remember, and they’ve rescued my pie crusts on several times. As a general guideline, for every 9-inch pie, use around 2.2 pounds of pie weights. I use these Ceramic Pie Weights, which you can get on Amazon!
After learning how to bake two pies at the same time, I understood that I needed to continue studying the baking procedure for more than two pies at the same time.
This proved more challenging since there were more pies in the oven to keep an eye on at the same time.
After adding 5-10 minutes for the second pie (as described above), I would recommend adding 2-3 minutes for each subsequent pie beyond the first two. This is significant because baking several pies in the oven modifies the baking environment of the oven.
*Side Note: I just published an article on How to Repair and Avoid Cracked Pie Crusts. This article discusses how to prevent and repair pie crusts from breaking in the oven. This article may be found here!
Here’s an example of how to adjust baking time based on the quantity of pies:
| Number of Pies | Baking Times |
| 1 | 40 minutes |
| 2 | 45-50 minutes |
| 3 | 52-53 minutes |
| 4 | 54-55 minutes |
*Please keep in mind that the statistics above are just samples and are all related to your own scenario. The timeframes may vary depending on the recipe, taste, size of the pie, oven, and even the pan used. You should still check on each pie individually to ensure that everything is progressing as planned.
*Also, I just published an article on How To Make A Pie Without A Pie Pan. This article discusses all of the alternatives to a pie pan and what you should do differently with each one. This article may be found here!
***Continue reading this post to find out everything you need to know to effectively bake numerous pies at the same time***
What You Should Know About Making Several Pies At Once
A widespread myth is that you must raise the baking temperature of your oven with each additional pie. Nevertheless, this is not always the case. Raising the oven temperature will often overbake your pies regardless of how many are inside.
This is significant since you must examine each pie recipe independently. To properly bake numerous pies at the same time, choose pies that need the same oven temperature.
This will ease the problem of baking numerous pies at once since you can just maintain the oven temperature the same as specified in your pie recipes. It will also enable you to bake all of the pies on the same rack, ensuring that they all have the same texture and consistency.
In any case, you’ll need to keep an eye on your pies to ensure that they’re all baking at the same pace.
*By the way, I recently blogged on How To Use Pie Weights Correctly. In this post, I discuss how to properly utilize pie weights to get the right formed pie every time. This article may be found here!
Concerns
When I first started learning, I was worried that one of the pies might start to taste like the other when I tried to bake two pies at once. This turned out to be a false alarm after some testing.
No matter whatever pie you create; apple, pecan, blueberry, or even pumpkin, one pie will NOT taste like the others when baked in the same oven.
Another worry I had was that one pie might bake quicker than the rest. This was a problem since I assumed that various flavored pies’ consistencies would bake at varying speeds.
Various dessert pies should be cooked at various temperatures. This is why you should leave certain pies in the oven for longer while pulling others out sooner.
But, regardless of whether flavored pie you bake, the only thing you must ensure is that the oven temperature in the pies recipe corresponds to the oven temperature in the other pies recipe.
If the oven temperature for both pies is the same in the recipes, place them on the same oven rack so they bake evenly together.
By the way, I just published an article titled The Best Ways to Keep Pie Crusts from Shrinking. This article explains why your pie crusts can be shrinking and how to prevent it! This article may be found here!
Which Rack Should Pies Be Baked On?
Typically, pies should be cooked on the center rack of the oven. This is due to the fact that most pie crusts burn on the bottom rack before the pie is even done. Try to place all of your pies on the center rack so that they bake evenly at the same time.
There are, however, certain exceptions to this rule. As previously said, the first step is to read the recipe directions for your pies. Some pies must be transferred to various baking racks throughout the baking process.
If you must bake pies from multiple recipes at the same time, put them on separate oven racks. To ensure that the pie is done, you must watch each pie separately and do the toothpick test.
It is OK to remove one pie while leaving another intact!
A lemon meringue pie, for example, is normally put on the middle rack, while a pumpkin pie is usually placed on the bottom rack. These pies will complete at various times depending on the recipes. So keep a look out!
Whenever a recipe calls for me to shift a pie from one rack to another throughout the baking process, I normally swap the pie from the top to bottom rack (or vice versa) halfway through to ensure equal baking.
*You may also be interested in learning the true difference between a sweet potato pie and a pumpkin pie. I recently created an essay on their similarities and differences, as well as how to tell them differently!
Can pies be baked in the centre of the oven?
Pies may be baked in the center of the oven. Two-crust pie recipes should be cooked on the center rack of the oven. This allows two-crust pies to reach the desired consistency without under or overbaking. To decide which rack the pie should be cooked on, see the recipe.
The majority of two-crust pie recipes should be cooked in the center of the oven. If you bake this pie too deep, the bottom crust will be done before the edges. If you place it too high, the pie’s edges will burn before the bottom is done. The temperature in the center of the oven is the most stable and does not change much.
The same is true for various pies, such as lemon meringue pie. This pie is delicate enough not to go on the bottom rack, yet heavy enough not to go on the top! Keep an eye on the recipe directions!
*Side Note: You may also be interested in whether it is possible to bake a square pie. I just published an essay on How To Make A Square Pie, which you can read here!
With A Convection Oven, Bake Many Pies
Convection ovens are not the same as typical conventional ovens. Although a traditional oven has the normal top, bottom, and middle racks, a convection oven features a fan that continuously circulates warm air throughout the oven during the baking process.
It’s never been easier to bake several pies in a convection oven. The temperatures of a simple conventional oven are not constant. They will force you to continually monitor your pies via the window, which negates the idea of baking numerous pies at once in the first place.
Convection ovens provide a constant flow of warm air all around the pie. This enables many pies to be cooked at a more consistent pace, giving you peace of mind.
After delving more into the ideal convection oven for pie making. I found an Oster French Countertop Convection Oven. Over the holiday season, this convection oven is ideal for making pies. This Convection Oven is available on Amazon!
In conclusion
Knowing how to bake many pies at the same time has gotten me out of a lot of jams over the last few holiday seasons. By learning how to bake many pies at once, I’ve drastically reduced the amount of time I spend baking in the kitchen around the holidays.