Pie crust - 3 questions

stmol32

Hi folks,
I realise there are thousands of sites with pie recipes and videos and also this subject has come up on this board quite often also.

The problem is that the more choices I have the less I'm finding definitive answers to 3 very specific questions I have about a steak & kidney pie I'm planning, so with that in mind I hope ye can help.

1) Should I grease the pie dish before laying the base pastry in the baking dish?

2) Should I score the base (I know to score the lid) pastry when it's in the baking dish?

3) Do I need to blind bake the base, is there any advantage?

Thanks in advance.

Lovely Bloke

1 - yes, always grease a baking tin, otherwise you will have trouble getting the pie out, and probably break it, causing a mess

2 - yes

3 - a) yes, blind baking lessens the chances of soggy bottoms. With the filling in the pie the pastry on the sides and bottom will cook at a slower rate than the top.

3 - b) when blind baking put some greaseproof on top of the pastry and on top of that put some baking balls, pasta, rice or pennies to ensure the pastry doesn't rise. Remove these for the last 5 minutes of blind baking.

stmol32

Cheers for that, I don't think I've ever actually made a pie (other than shop made) so I'll stick to your suggestions.
Thanks a lot.