Why Blind Bake a Crust ?

Some proto-indo european and tart recipes have fillings that are not cooked at all, and need to be put into a amply cooked proto-indo european husk.

Some recipes like quiches recommend partially cooked proto-indo european shells because the baking time would n’t be long adequate to amply cook the dough differently .

Pre-baking a crust can ensure that your proto-indo european or lemony crust will be fully baked and browned, and not inert .

Elise Bauer

Pre-Baking a boughten crust

Are you using a homemade proto-indo european crust ? Or a shop bought freeze crust ? Most boughten freeze crusts have much less boodle in them than a distinctive homemade crust, so they ‘ll brown a lot faster than a homemade crust .

If you are pre-baking a boughten flash-frozen packaged crust, I recommend following the directions on the package for how to pre-bake that finical crust. Most instructions will have you defrost the crust, prick the bottom of the crust all over with the tines of a crotch, and bake at 375°F to 450°F for 10 to 12 minutes .

Pre-baking a homemade crust is an entirely unlike matter, as homemade crusts can have twice equally much boodle and a higher symmetry of fatness than boughten crusts .

How to Blind Bake a Homemade Crust

The most challenge publish you encounter when pre-baking a homemade crust is slumping sides. Homemade crusts particularly have a high fatten subject. The adipose tissue melts when heated in the oven, and unless there is a occupy to prop up the sides of the proto-indo european crust, it can slump .

Another issue is billowing air pockets in the focus on. If you do n’t blind bake with weights, or poke holes into the bottom of the crust, the bottom of the crust can puff up .

For years I pre-baked crusts the way most people did, about 15 minutes at a high broil temperature using foil or parchment and proto-indo european weights, then removing the pie weights and thwart, poking the bed of the crust with the tines of a fork, and continuing to bake for 20 minutes, uncovered .

Elise Bauer

This method works, but I ‘ve constantly found it a piece finical. And even when you poke the bottom of the crust all over with little holes, sometimes you still get vent pockets bubbling up at the bottom .

I have recently starting using a method I learned from Stella Parks at Serious Eats that systematically gives good results, tied with hard-to-blind-bake crusts such as my no-fail false cream pie crust .

stella advocates lining a freeze crust with foil, filling with pie weights, and then baking at an even 350°F temperature for the entirety of the bake time. No absent of the pie weights mid room, no poking the bottom with a branch .

It works ! The atmospheric pressure of the proto-indo european weights keeps the bottom of the crust from billowing up, and the sides from slumping excessively much .

Sugar, Rice, or Beans for Pie Weights

Another matter that Stella recommends is using sugar for proto-indo european weights alternatively of beans or other weights. Why sugar ? Because of its small farinaceous size, sugar distributes the weight more evenly against the sides of the crust .

Elise Bauer
You might think the sugar would melt, but it ‘s not in the oven long adequate to reach its melting distributor point. You can actually re-use the sugar in baking. In fact, cooking the sugar this way lightly caramelizes it, giving it more relish .

You can besides well use uncooked rice or dry beans. I ‘ve extensively tested all three ; they all sour. I have found that carbohydrate does give systematically better results, and helps keep the sides in place good .

Tips for Blind Baking Success

• Use a dough that will pre-bake well. A dough that has a ratio of 1 cup of flour to 4 ounces of fat (1 stick of butter) is a high fat ratio dough and is more likely to slump when pre-baked. A dough that has a ratio of 1 1/4 cups of flour to 4 ounces of fat will have better structure and will slump less. (See our All-Butter Crust recipe.)
• Roll out your dough a little bit wider than usual, so you can crimp the edges in the pie dish a little taller than usual. If the edges are taller or wider to begin with, they’ll have more room to shrink.
• Freeze the un-cooked pie crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour, before blind-baking. If the crust is frozen when it goes into the hot oven, the outside edges will have more of a chance to set before the fat melts.
• Line the crust with heavy duty foil. Heavy duty foil is less likely to tear than regular foil when you are forming it in the crust or when you are removing it and the pie weights. I’ve used parchment, but it doesn’t mold to the edges of the the crust the way foil can.
• Use sugar for pie weights. Dry beans and rice also work, but sugar works even better, especially if you are using a dough that is higher in fat content like my favorite no-fail sour cream pie crust.
• Fill the weights to the top, they’ll hold pressure agains the sides of the pie better.

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Watch How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust