Preheat your oven to 425°F. Put the pie on a material-lined baking sheet (to get any trickles), and put the pie and baking sheet onto the low rack of your oven. Prepare the pie for 20 minutes, then bring down the temperature to 350°F and heat for 60 extra minutes until the filling is effervescent and the covering is brilliant brown. Check the pie with around 15 minutes left; assuming it’s now impeccably seared, tent it with aluminum foil for the excess baking time.
The pie should be done when you can cut into it with a fork, and it has reached an internal temperature of at least 200°F if you prefer a soft but not runny filling.
Why do I need to preheat my oven?
Preheating your oven ensures that all of the ingredients are at room temperature when they go into the oven. This will prevent them from burning or sticking together, which means your pie will come out perfectly cooked!
What temperature should baked sweet potatoes be?
Baked sweet potatoes should be cooked at a high temperature and then cooled in the oven.
The ideal temperature for baking sweet potatoes is 205 to 212 degrees F. If you bake them at this temperature, they will hold their shape and not fall apart when cut. However, if you bake them at higher temperatures, they will fall apart on the outside but stay together in the center.
To ensure that your sweet potatoes don’t fall apart during baking, place them in an ovenproof dish or casserole dish with about 1 inch of water on top of them. This will help prevent the skin from drying out too much, which can cause it to crack when you cut it open.
How can you tell when sweet potato pie is done?
When you have a pie that is done, the center point of the pie ought to have some give; it ought to shake somewhat in the middle. The pie has an inner temperature of 175°F on a moment-read thermometer when done. To take the temperature, a blade embedded into the edge of the filling should come clean.
The pie ought to be dry inside so that you can prick it with your finger and it doesn’t squish down and ooze out.
The crust ought to be firm and solid, not soft and spongy like a soggy pie crust would be.
You ought to be able to cut through it easily with a knife without having to pry it apart or crumble it up before you get through with it.
How long do you leave pies in the oven?
Pies are notoriously finicky. They require the right amount of time in the oven, and if you’re not getting it right, your pie could be ruined before it even leaves the house.
But there are some general rules for baking pies that should help make them more consistent. With a few exceptions, most pies need to bake at 425°F for about 20 minutes for a 9-inch pie (or 12-15 minutes for a 5-inch pie).
The temperature is important because it determines how much time you need to leave them in the oven before they’re done. Pies with fruit fillings should be cooked until they’re bubbling around the edges; those with more liquid should cook until they’re set in the center.
Can you overcook sweet potato pie?
Overcooking sweet potato pie is one of the most common mistakes made when making the dish. The pie is done once the filling has become firm around the external edges however is still jiggly in the middle. It will proceed to set and solidify as it cools. Be mindful so as not to overbake it. Overbaking is the primary explanation for the filling will break.
What causes a sweet potato pie to crack?
The cracks that you see in your sweet potato pie are the aftereffect of overcooked eggs.
The egg whites are cooked when they lose their ability to hold a shape, and they become runny. The yolks continue to cook as they absorb heat, which causes them to thicken as well. At this point, the egg is done cooking but not yet at room temperature. So while it’s still hot out of the oven and it will continue to cook while it cools down, it’s also runny enough that it can go through the second phase of cooking once it cools off enough for this second phase to begin.
For a top-quality sweet potato pie from a novice, keep the temperature at 425°F while the pie is precooked, and bring it down to 350°F after 20 minutes. That’s all there’s to making an excellent dining delight.
