How to blind bake pastry (2024)

FAQs

How to blind bake pastry? ›

Line the base and sides of an uncooked pastry case with non-stick baking paper. Fill with rice, dried beans, or metal or ceramic baking weights. (This stops the pastry base rising during cooking.) Place on a baking tray and cook in an oven preheated to 220C for 8-10 minutes.

Bake for 15–20 minutes in the upper third of the oven until the sides are set. To check, remove from the oven and carefully pull the cartouche away from the pastry. If the pastry is holding up and looking less translucent and grey, remove the beans and gently tweak out the cartouche.

When blind baking, line the pastry with baking paper and fill to the brim with baking beans/uncooked rice, which will support the sides of the pastry and help prevent shrinkage. Start shortcrust off at 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 to quickly set the pastry. If the oven temperature is too low, the pastry will shrink.

If you don't have pie weights, you could use something similar like pennies, dry beans, dry rice, or even sugar. I don't recommend blind baking your crust without anything to weigh it down though, because it will likely lose its shape, bubble, and shrink.

To fully blind bake pie crust, bake it at 425°F until the crust begins to turn golden, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights, and continue to bake until the crust is evenly browned and looks crisp, which should take another 5 to 10 minutes.

An egg wash is not necessary when blind baking, though if you want to add some shine to the edges of the pie, you can brush the crust with egg wash after removing the pie weights and before returning the pie to the oven to finish baking.

Lightly brush the pastry all over with beaten free-range egg yolk and return to the oven for 2 more minutes to seal – this stops the filling from soaking into the pastry during cooking later. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Here's our problem: As the pie dough bakes, the fat melts. This causes the pie crust to shrink down the sides of the pie dish. And as the fat melts, it creates steam.

To prevent them becoming soggy, shortcrust pastry cases need to be partially cooked before adding moist fillings. This process, known as blind baking, which seals the surface and results in a crisp pastry case.

Trim off any excess pastry that's hanging over the edges of the tin. You can use your rolling pin to help you do this – simply press it down on the edges so the excess is sliced off. 5. Poke your pastry base with a fork a few times and then cover it with a layer of greaseproof paper.

Can I use tin foil to blind bake? ›

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.

What To Know About Blind Baking Pie Crust. To blind bake pie crust, prick the crust all over with the tines of a fork and line the unbaked pie crust with aluminum foil, or line the crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil then add pie weights.

Blind baking is done by preparing your pie crust in the pan, leaving it to chill, then filling it with crumpled parchment paper and pie weights of your choice. The weights stop the crust from fully puffing while in the oven.

If your recipe doesn't have instructions and you're wondering how long to pre bake the pie, here's what I do: I pre bake the prepped pie crust at 350°F. If the crust is homemade from scratch, I pre bake for 35 minutes. If the crust is store-bought, I pre bake for 30 minutes.

But the one surefire way to make certain your pie's crust will be golden brown, crisp, and delicious — just as appealing as its filling — is to prebake it. That's right: bake the bottom crust first, before adding the filling.

When blind baking, the pie crust is lined with parchment paper and then filled with uncooked beans or rice, and then baked. This prevents the crust from puffing up while it bakes. After baking, the beans or rice are removed and the pie crust is filled.

Line with the parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans, filling right to the bottom of the crimps. Place the pie tin on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven, remove the parchment paper and beans.

Blind Bake Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the chilled pie dough with aluminum foil and use granulated sugar to fill the whole pie plate. Bake for 40 minutes; remove the foil and sugar and set the crust aside while you make the filling.

Bake the pastries until the puff pastry is a golden brown. This should take about 15 minutes, but keep your eyes on the baking process. When the pastries are golden brown, remove from the oven, and allow them to cool on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool for 3-5 minutes, then serve warm.