Why Bakery Apple Pies Always Taste Better Than Homemade

Whether you prefer American apple pie with a lattice crust or Dutch apple pie with a crumbly streusel shell, there's nothing quite like a good slice of the warm, crispy pastry filled with sweet, caramelized apples. If you've ever tried your hand at making your own (perhaps with a bit of useful culinary destruction) and discovered that the dessert tastes way better from the bakery, you're not alone. Why is that? We talked to Mimi Council, a former bake shop owner and current recipe developer for Mimi's Organic Eats, who says to make bakery-quality pie at home, you must keep the crust cold.

Butter is a key ingredient in pie crust, but rolling the dough generates friction that can soften the butter. Keep the pie dough firm as you work — pastry chefs roll quickly to maintain a chilled and flaky texture. "The main reason bakery pies taste better is because the baker rolling them out is probably 10 times faster than the home baker at doing so," Council said. 

If you're an amateur baker, don't worry — you can still make a delicious pie at home. Council's trick is to prep everything — from your filling to crumb topping — before you begin working with your crust. Roll out both the top and bottom pie crusts and place them on a baking sheet. To ensure your crust is chilled, put it in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes before assembling the pie with the ingredients you prepped ahead of time, she says. Refrigerate the whole pie for another 15 to 20 minutes before baking.

Why, exactly, is keeping the crust cold so important? "When the pie crust bakes in the oven, the cold butter melts, leaving air pockets in the dough," Mimi Council explained. This is a bad thing when it comes to something that's supposed to be dense and chewy, like a chocolate chip cookie. But with pie crusts, it's more than welcome. "These air pockets turn into steam from the heat of the oven and expand the air pockets," Council said. "This results in a flaky crust." And who doesn't want buttery layers in their apple pie?

Creating a tasty homemade pie takes more than just keeping the crust cold, however. Ingredients matter, too, when aiming for gourmet flavor, Council says. "Most bakeries will spend more to choose a higher quality butter and spice than the home baker will," she said. Although Council gets her apples from a farm rather than the store, she said that seasons are an important factor. "Even in-store apples during the fall are going to be better than in-store apples in the spring," Council said. "So, my advice is always buy from a local farmer's market if possible and bake seasonal pies."