Blind baking is key for pies with fillings that don’t need much baking or could cause the crust to become soggy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure your crust turns out perfectly:
Making the Crust
Many custard, cream, or even fruit pies need the pie crust to be partially or fully baked before being filled.
Prepare the Dough:
Follow your favorite pie crust recipe, or use store-bought dough. Make sure to chill the dough before rolling it out to prevent shrinkage.
Roll Out the Dough:
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to fit your pie dish. Transfer it to the dish, pressing it into the corners and up the sides. Trim any excess dough and crimp the edges.
Chill that Pie: Before baking, ensure the pie dough is thoroughly chilled. After placing the dough in the pan, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes, then transfer it to the freezer for another 10 minutes. The dough should be very cold but not frozen. This step helps improve both the flakiness and texture of the crust.
Cube COLD butter in small pieces
In a bowl, add butter to flour, salt, and sugar. Use a pastry blender to combine
Stir in cold water until a cohesive dough form. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill.
Blind Baking
Roll out the crust and place in the pan
Cover with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans. Then bake!
Remove the parchment paper and weights.
Keep the pie crust from shrinking
For the crust to maintain its shape and avoid shrinking, it’s important to use a temporary filling while blind baking. Start by covering the crust with parchment paper, then fill the pie with pie weights, dried beans, or rice. I personally use beans—why spend money on fancy pie weights when a simple bag of black beans works just as well? Plus, they can be reused multiple times for blind baking.
Trouble-Shooting Common Pie Crust Problems
Crumbly Crust: If your dough is too crumbly, add a little bit of water to help bring it together. Add the water gradually until the dough is cohesive but not sticky.
Sticky, Wet Crust: Knead some flour into the dough to absorb excess moisture. Add small amounts at a time until the dough is manageable.
Overcooked or Burnt Edges: To prevent the edges of the pie crust from burning, create a ring of tin foil to cover them. Cut a long strip of foil the same length as the rim of the pie and form it into a ring. Loosely cover the edges to shield them from direct heat, or use a pie crust shield if you have one.
Shrinking Crust: If you’re using rice or beans, make sure to fill the pie shell all the way to the rim. This ensures even pressure and prevents the crust from shrinking during baking.
Par vs fully cooked:
Some recipes require a partially baked (par-baked) crust before adding the filling and finishing the baking process. For a par-baked crust, remove the parchment and weights when the crust is just starting to cook; it will look slightly raw and not yet golden brown. Common recipes that use a par-baked crust include pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and quiche.
For a fully baked crust, remove the parchment and weights and return the crust to the oven until it is completely golden brown. Fully baked crusts are typically used for no-bake fillings, such as blueberry whipped cream pie, banana cream pie, and coconut cream pie.
