On many occasions you will see mentioned in a recipe that you need to blind bake the pie crust. Blind baking essentially means that you’re pre-baking the pie crust or tart shell to prevent soggy bottoms when you add the – usually wet – filling.
Blind baking also means adding a piece of parchment paper and pie weights. In this article I will explain exactly why you should blind bake your pie shell and what kind of baking weights you can use to do this.
As I mentioned blind baking is pre- baking a crust for when you’re either having a filling that does not require to be cooked like a fruit filling or a lemon meringue pie for instance or a pie that has a relatively wet bake filling (like for instance pumpkin pie). If you would not blind bake, the bottom of the crust would become quite soggy and could also remain raw.
Not really what you want in a pie dough right? A pie filling that is usually quite wet would be quiche filling for instance. Cream pies like coconut cream pie or banana cream pie are generally not baked at all so in that cause you want the bottom crust to be fully cooked.
If you’re planning on blind baking your pie crust there are a couple of steps to take. You can use either store-bought crust or make your own. The process is the same.
Now in many cases you then proceed to remove the weights and the parchment paper and you place the crust back into the oven for a second bake. It depends on the final use of your pie. Are you adding a filling that does not require any further baking? Then now is the time to brush the blind-baked crust with egg wash (this is optional) and place back in the oven until golden brown.
There are official baking beans you can buy but they are fairly expensive, although you can use them many times. A lot cheaper and easier option is to use one of the following:
Keep in mind that once you’ve used the dried rice or dried beans you cannot eat them afterwards. But you cán re-use them time and time again for blind baking. Just let them cool to room temperature and place them in a jar for the next time you need something to cover the bottom of the pie crust.
You can use another mould that is slightly smaller than your pie pan. For instance a springform pan or a glass pie dish. Place the plan inside the pie plate and follow the recipe for the timing. Basically you could use any weight that is able to withstand the heat of the oven. That is the main deciding factor. You could even use regular marbles, but make sure to wash them properly before using.
Assuming it is a raw dough than yes you will need to blind bake that as well. Same as the homemade pie crust.
Short crust pastry, puff pastry, pie dough and store bought pie crust can all be blind baked.
It depends on the recipe so always follow the guidelines on the baking time described there, but in general the following rules apply:
Blind baking is one of the things that helps to prevent a soggy bottom. Using egg wash also creates a barrier between the dough and the filling, so that helps as well.
If you fill your crust with, for example, pastry cream after baking, you could brush the crust with melted chocolate too.
Nothing more annoying than a dough that shrinks in the form which also means the filling will spill over in the oven. Using a baking sheet to place the pie on is always a good idea but it’s better to prevent dough shrinking in the first place (but: it always shrinks a little, that is just normal).
Chilling the dough is an important step, but also not stretching the dough too much when you place it in the pie pan. Don’t excessively use the rolling pin either.
When using weights distribute them evenly over the crust too.
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