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Throughout the holiday seasons, I always become overwhelmed with the amount of baking that I had to do in a short period of time. This led me to learn how to bake multiple pies in the oven at once to maximize my baking productivity in the kitchen.
To bake multiple pies evenly, keep the pies in the oven for 5-10 minutes longer than required to compensate for the loss of heat of multiple pies in the oven. While baking in the oven, place the pies on the middle rack while keeping the baking temperature the same as in the pie’s instructions.
This, however, was not a simple skill to achieve. I had to do a lot of experimenting to learn all the small details of baking multiple pies at once. This is why I also chose to learn the difference in baking multiple pies in different types of ovens as well!
Is it ok to bake multiple pies at the same time?
As a general rule, it is okay to bake multiple pies in the oven at once. Since there are two or more pies in the oven at once, the temperature of the oven decreases. The more pies in the oven, the more the temperature decreases. Keep the pies in the oven for 5-10 minutes longer to fully bake them.
The best method to baking multiple pies that I’ve tried so far is to use an upside-down baking pan covered with aluminum foil to bake multiple pies. Here’s what you need to do:
- 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 that the pies are spaced enough from each other as well as from the oven walls!
I’ve been baking pies for a long time now and I’ve noticed that not every baker knows of something called pie weights. Pie weights are small ceramic balls that are poured into the pie crust before being put in the oven to prevent the crust from puffing.
I’ve been using Ceramic Pie Weights for as long as I could remember and it saved my pie crusts on so many occasions. As a general rule, you should use about 2.2 lbs of pie weights for every 9-inch pie you make. I use these Ceramic Pie Weights that you can check out on Amazon!
After learning how to bake two pies together, I’ve realized that I need to keep learning the baking process for more than two pies at once.
This proved to be a bit more difficult since there are more pies in the oven to keep my eyes on at the same time.
After adding 5-10 minutes for the second pie (as mentioned above), I would suggest adding 2-3 minutes of bake time for each additional pie after two. This is important because baking multiple pies in the oven changes the oven’s baking environment.
*By the way, I recently wrote an article breaking down The Best Pie Thickeners for Thickening Runny Pie Fillings. This article talks about all the potential thickeners that you might have laying around the house that can thicken your runny pie filling. You can check out this article here!
Here’s an example of how to change baking time according to the number of pies:
| Number of Pies | Baking Times |
| 1 | 40 minutes |
| 2 | 45-50 minutes |
| 3 | 52-53 minutes |
| 4 | 54-55 minutes |
*Just remember that the numbers above are just examples and are all relative to the situation that you are in. The times could be different based on; recipe, flavor, size of pie, oven, and even the pan you are using. You should still check on each pie individually to make sure that all is going according to plan.
*By the way, I recently wrote an article about How To Bake A Pie Without A Pie Pan. This article talks about all the substitutes you can use instead of a pie pan and what you should do differently with each substitute. You can check out this article here!
***Follow along to the next paragraph of this article to learn the important things to know for successfully baking multiple pies at once***
Important Things To Know About Baking Multiple Pies At Once
A common misconception is that you have to increase the baking temperature of your oven with every pie that you add. However, this is not necessarily true. Increasing the oven’s temperature will generally overbake your pies no matter how many are inside the oven.
This is important because you have to look at EACH pie’s recipe individually. To bake multiple pies at once successfully, you’ll have to choose the pies that require the same oven temperature to bake them.
This will simplify your conundrum of baking multiple pies at once since you can just keep the oven’s temperature the same as in your pies recipes. It will also allow you to bake all the pies on one rack to achieve the same texture and consistency throughout all the pies.
Either way, you will have to check up on your pies to make sure that they are all being baked at an even rate.
*By the way, I recently wrote about How To Effectively Use Pie Weights The Right Way. In this article, I speak about how to use pie weights correctly to get the perfect shaped pie every time. You can check out this article here!
Concerns…
One concern that I had when starting the learning process was that one of the pies will start to taste like the other one when trying to bake multiple pies at once. After some testing, this proved to be a false concern.
No matter which pie you bake; apple, pecan, blueberry, or even pumpkin, one pie will NOT taste like any of the other pies when baking them together in one oven.
Another concern I had was that one pie will finish baking faster than the others. This was a concern because I thought that different consistencies of different flavored pies will bake at different rates.
Some dessert pies are supposed to be baked at different temperatures. This is why you might want to leave some pies in the oven for longer while taking other pies out of the oven sooner.
However, no matter which flavored pie you bake, the only thing you have to make sure of is that the oven temperature in the pie’s recipe will match the oven temperature of the other pie’s recipe.
If both pies have the same oven temperature in the recipes, make sure to stick them on the same oven rack for them to bake evenly together.
*By the way, I recently wrote an article about The Best Ways To Prevent Your Pie Crusts From Shrinking. This article breaks down all the reasons why your pie crusts might be shrinking and how to avoid it! You can check out this article here!
Which Rack To Bake Pies On
Pies should usually be baked on the middle rack of the oven. This is because most pie crusts begin to burn on the bottom rack before the pie is even ready. Try to fit all of your pies on the middle rack for them to be bake evenly simultaneously.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. As I mentioned before, the first thing you need to do is read your pie’s recipe instructions. There are certain pies that require to be moved to different racks during the baking process.
If you have to bake pies with different recipes at the same time, it is okay to place them on different racks in the oven. You’ll have to monitor each pie individually and perform the toothpick test to make sure the pie is done.
It is okay to take one pie out and leave another one in!
For example, a lemon meringue pie is usually placed in the middle rack while a pumpkin pie is usually placed on the bottom rack. Depending on the recipes, these pies will finish at different times. So keep a close eye!
From my experience, if a recipe requires me to move a pie from one rack to another during the baking process, then I usually switch the pie from the top to bottom rack (or vice versa) halfway through the baking process for even baking.
*By the way, you might also want to know What’s The Real Difference Between A Sweet Potato Pie and A Pumpkin Pie. I recently wrote an article that explains Their Similarities and Differences and how to tell them apart!
Can you bake pies in the middle of the oven?
You can bake pies in the middle of the oven. The middle rack of the oven is where two-crust pie recipes should be baked. This helps two-crust pies achieve the correct consistency while not under or overbaking. Make sure to look at the pie’s recipe to determine which rack the pie should be baked on.
Most two-crust pie recipes should be baked in the middle of the oven. If you put this pie too low, the bottom of the crust would be done before the edges. If you put it too high, the edges of the pie will burn before the bottom is done. The middle of the oven has the most consistent temperature that doesn’t fluctuate dramatically.
The same goes with other pies such as a lemon meringue pie. This pie is sensitive enough not to be placed on the bottom rack while hefty enough not to be placed on the top rack! Keep an eye on your recipe instructions!
*Side Note: You might also be interested in knowing If It Is Possible to Bake a Pie to be Square. I recently wrote an article that talks about How To Bake A Square Pie, which you can check out here!
Bake Multiple Pies In A Convection Oven
Convection ovens are different than the regular conventional ovens. While a conventional oven has the standard top, bottom, and middle racks, a convection oven provides a fan that evenly circulates the heated air around the oven at all times throughout the baking process.
Baking multiple pies in a convection oven has never been simpler. A basic conventional oven’s temperatures are not consistent. They will require you to constantly watch your pies from the window which defeats the purposes of baking multiple pies at once, to begin with.
Convection ovens provide a consistent flow of heated air all around the pie at all times. This allows for multiple pies to be baked at a more even rate which helps you have a piece of mind.
After digging further into the perfect convection oven for baking pies. I came across an Oster French Countertop Convection Oven. This convection oven is perfect for baking pies throughout the holiday season. You can check out this Convection Oven on Amazon!
To Summarize…
Learning how to bake multiple pies at the same time got me out of many tight situations the past few holiday seasons. The amount of time that I spend baking in the kitchen during the holidays has dramatically decreased after learning the right ways to bake multiple pies at once.
