Description
Learn how to blind bake a pie crust perfectly to prevent soggy bottoms and achieve a flaky, tender crust. This step-by-step guide covers everything from rolling out your dough and chilling it, to lining with foil and weights, and baking at the right temperature with tips for both full and partial blind baking.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Crust
- 1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought, enough for a 9-inch pie plate)
Additional Supplies
- Parchment paper or tin foil (large enough to line the pie crust with overhang)
- Pie weights (such as dry beans, dry rice, loose change, marbles, or sugar; about 2 ½ pounds)
Instructions
- Prepare the Pie Crust: Roll out your pie crust dough and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate according to your preferred method or recipe.
- Trim and Fold the Edges: Gently fold the excess dough hanging over the edge underneath itself to align with the pie plate edge, smoothing any cracks with moistened fingers.
- Shape the Crust Edge: Flute the edges using your fingers, knuckles, or press with a fork for a decorative finish.
- Chill the Crust: Refrigerate the crust for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 hour, to keep the fat cold for a flaky texture.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare for Baking: Heat oven to 425°F (220°C) for at least 20 minutes, placing a pizza stone or metal baking sheet inside to ensure a hot baking surface.
- Line the Crust: Crumple then smooth parchment paper or foil and line it inside the chilled crust, ensuring enough overhang to lift out weights later.
- Add Pie Weights: Fill the lined crust with pie weights, beans, rice, or other heavy items up the sides to prevent shrinking or bubbling during baking.
- Initial Blind Bake: Bake the weighted crust at 425°F for 15 minutes until edges begin to lighten in color.
- Remove Weights and Dock Bottom: Carefully lift out the lining and weights, then prick the bottom of the crust with a fork to prevent air bubbles.
- Create a Tin Foil Shield: For a full blind bake, make an aluminum foil shield by cutting a circle in a folded square of foil and fitting it around the pie edge to prevent over-browning.
- Continue Baking Fully or Partially: For a full bake, return crust to oven at 425°F for 12-18 minutes until the bottom is light golden brown. For par-baking, bake an additional 3 minutes without a foil shield until the bottom is matte and pale.
- Cool and Fill: Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool completely before adding your pie filling and proceeding with your pie recipe instructions.
Notes
- Chilling the dough before baking is crucial for flaky crusts as it keeps the fat cold and prevents shrinking.
- Using a hot baking surface like a pizza stone or metal sheet helps crisp the bottom crust.
- Pie weights can be reused multiple times if stored properly.
- The foil shield prevents the crust edges from burning during longer baking times.
- Par-baking is recommended if the filling requires further baking so the crust does not overcook or burn.
- Homemade pie crust can be made ahead and frozen for several months.