If you’re an aspiring baker looking to create masterful desserts and savoury pies, you’ll need to learn the art of blind baking.
Blind baking is a vital step in crafting flawless pastries, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to produce professional-looking results.
Blind Bake Meaning
Blind baking is a cooking method in which an unbaked pastry crust is entirely or partially baked without being filled.
The technique is commonly used for baked goods such as pie crusts, tarts and tart shells.
The process entails pre-baking an empty crust before it’s filled with ingredients. This has several benefits: it helps to prevent soggy dough from forming in the bottom of the crust, it gives nice even browning that you wouldn’t get with an unbaked crust and it helps create firm walls that can stand up to thick or puddings fillings without collapsing.
It is also known as “pre-baking” or “par-baking.”
This technique gets its name because the crust must be baked without the benefit of seeing its progress, hence the phrase “blind bake.”
How To Blind Bake A Pie Crust
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Blind baking a pie crust can be achieved by using 1 of these 3 different methods.
This guide will teach you how to blind-bake a pie crust and getting that perfect pastry for your pie.
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
or 1 defrosted pastry pastry sheet
Instructions
Then follow one of the 3 following methods;
Blind Bake Without Weights
The first method we'll show you how to blind bake without weights, this is called docking the pie crust. Docking is the term for the simplest method of blind baking where you simply take a fork and prick the dough all over. These holes you produce allow the steam to escape and prevents the crust from bubbling up.
The only time when you might want to use pie weights instead of docking is when the filling is very liquidy, as with quiche or other pies that will be fully baked in the oven. It is certainly not advisable for pies with wet fillings, as these can seep through the holes and then into or under the crust itself.
Directions For Blind Baking Without Weights
Roll out your pie dough.
After you've rolled out the dough, using a fork, pierce the surface of the pastry dough all over making sure you get the sides too
Throw into the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden.
Blind Bake With Pie Weights
A safer method is to weigh the crust down with “pie weights.” When using this method for a fully baked crust, the weights are removed before the pre-baking is complete in order to achieve a browned crust.
Here, the pie crust is lined with aluminium foil or parchment paper, then filled with pastry- or pie weights (sometimes called "baking beans") to ensure the crust retains its shape while baking.
Directions For Blind Baking Using Weights
Line the base and sides of an uncooked pastry case with non-stick baking paper or foil.
Fill it with dried beans, or rice, or macaroni elbows, or metal or ceramic baking weights.
Place on a baking tray and cook in an oven preheated to 220°C (428°F) for 8-10 minutes.
Remove the pastry case from the oven and remove the baking paper or foil and weights.
Cook for a further 5-10 minutes or until light golden.
Blind Bake Using Another Pie Pan
If you own two pie pans, you already have a perfectly shaped pie weight. This technique dispenses with weights by placing a second pie tin on top of the crust, then inverting the tins to bake. This will weigh down the crust and prevent it from puffing.
In this method, the crust browns between the tins.
Directions For Blind Baking Using Another Pie Pan
Cover the dough-lined pie pan with parchment or foil.
Place the second, empty pie pan on top.
Place on a baking tray and cook in an oven preheated to 220°C (428°F) for 8-10 minutes.
Notes
Pie Weights Substitute
Trying to blind-bake a pie, but don't have any pie weights? Not to worry! Here we provide several alternative baking solutions so you can get your crust perfectly crispy.
Pie-weights are available as ceramic or metal beads, but these substitutes for pie weights can be used instead.
Your homemade pie weights will probably be too dry to cook and eat afterward, but don't toss them. If you save them in a labeled jar, you can use them the next time you need pie weights.
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