Judy-Mass, I've got a question about my small Pi pie plate of yours.

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I want to prebake a pie crust for a coconut cream pie, but years ago I cracked a beautiful handmade bowl from a Canadian sculptor by putting it in a hot oven. I remember being shocked because I thought a high kiln firing meant it could handle basic oven heat.

You wrote something about having to bring it up to temperature first.

So...anyway, I'm a bit worried now because I'll put the crust in, then put it in the refrigerator to chill the fat and then put it into a preheated hot oven. It won't crack it, will it?? Because it will be directly going from COLD to HOT.

Will it be okay?

 
Marilyn, that would not be good.

Thermal shock is ceramic's worst enemy.

I recommend putting my pieces into a cold oven and heating the piece at the same time as the food.

Going right from cold to hot will certainly weaken it, if not destroy it outright.

 
M, you were VERY SMART to pose that question! I ruined one of my nice ceramic pie plates some yrs

back by going from freezer straight into the oven. SO DUMB, but I'd been doing that for years with all my glass Pyrex pie plates as had my mother before me so I didn't give a moment's thought to a ceramic version being more fragile. My thinking was identical to yours regarding the ceramic stuff having withstood very high temps when being fired in a kiln. Unfortunately, that line of logic doesn't hold water. Sigh. It didn't even dawn on me I'd messed up until I was hand washing my ceramic pie plate after the family had devoured the pie, and I noticed a big crack in it. I was sick because not only was my pie plate pretty, it had been a gift--but it was far too late to avoid my mishap. I'm glad your Pi pie plate escaped unharmed!

 
Judy, what do you think about using pottery in the microwave. I don't do handmade

pottery in it 'cause I'm afraid of a small bubble that might heat and crack.

 
If you have bubbles in the pottery glaze

and it's on a food surface, you should not be using it at all. The "bubbles" are glaze that did not properly adhere to the clay surface and can break, leaving you with broken bits, sharp edges and places for bacteria to settle and multiply.

My pottery is safe for occasional MW use, but I always advise to test a piece first by putting water in it and heating for a minute or so. Test the piece carefully to see if the pottery is hot. If it is, then be sure to use hand protection for removing it from the MW.

 
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