The Secret to Perfect Pies: How to Blind Bake Pie Crust Every Single Time

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your pie dough: Roll out your chilled pie dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness, large enough to fit your 9-inch pie plate with some overhang. Gently transfer the dough to the pie plate, easing it into the corners without stretching. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then crimp or decoratively finish the edges as desired.
2. 2

   Chill the crust: Place the prepared pie plate with the dough into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or into the freezer for 15-20 minutes. This is crucial for preventing shrinkage during baking.
3. 3

   Preheat and prick: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). While the oven heats, remove the chilled crust from the fridge/freezer. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork (this creates vents for steam).
4. 4

   Line and weigh: Line the chilled, pricked crust with a piece of parchment paper or heavy-duty aluminum foil, ensuring it covers the bottom and extends up the sides and over the edges. Fill the lined crust completely with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice, pressing them firmly into the corners and against the sides of the crust.
5. 5

   First bake (partial blind bake): Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the crust look dry and are lightly golden. The weights help to hold the shape and prevent bubbles.
6. 6

   Remove weights: Carefully remove the pie plate from the oven. Lift the parchment paper (or foil) along with the hot pie weights out of the crust. Be gentle, as the crust will be delicate at this stage. If any cracks appear, you can gently press them together while the crust is warm.
7. 7

   Second bake (fully blind bake, if needed): Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C). Return the unweighted crust to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown and appears dry. If the edges are browning too quickly, you can loosely cover them with aluminum foil. For a partially blind-baked crust (for pies with fillings that will be baked again), you might only need a few minutes until the bottom looks dry, not necessarily deep golden.
8. 8

   Cool completely: Remove the fully or partially blind-baked crust from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack before adding any filling. Adding filling to a warm crust can make it soggy.