One useful thing, especially this time of year, is knowing how to blind bake pie crusts. This keeps your crust from getting too soggy. It is necessary if you are making a cream pie or one that does not require baking the filling.
Here are some tips we have learned when we blind bake pie crusts.
Use your favorite pie crust recipe. We will offer some of our pie crust recipes in another post.
Your recipe probably calls for you to chill your pie crusts. Follow that step per your recipe.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a clean, lightly floured counter or surface. Use a rolling pin to make a circle that is about 12 inches across. This is the best size for a 9 or 10 inch pie pan.
Place the crust in your pie pan. We find it helpful to carefully roll the crust onto the rolling pin and then unroll it over the pan. Crimp or trim the edges to your desired finish.
This next step is important when you blind bake pie crusts. Once your crust is in your pan, place the pan in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, but not longer than 40 minutes. If you are using a glass pie plate, 15 minutes is about the maximum time it should be in the freezer before placing in the oven. During this time preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Remove your pan from the freezer. In order to blind bake pie crusts that stay flat you will need to use some type of weight to hold the crust in place. Line your crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Be sure it fills the pan completely and up over the sides. You want to be able to lift this out when the first part of blind baking the pie crust.
Fill the lined crust about halfway full with pie weights or dried beans. We like pie weights as they can be reused many years. The best ones can be washed and dried to use again and again when you blind bake pie crusts.
Place your pan on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to remove the paper or foil with the pie weights. Transfer these to a heatproof bowl or plate.
If you will be baking a filling in your crust, let the crust cool before adding the filling and baking. You may have to place some foil around the edges so they do not get too brown.
If you will not be baking the filling, pierce the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Return to the oven to finish blind baking the pie crust. Bake for an additional 10 or 15 minutes until it is light golden brown.
Cool before filling.
Use this method when you need to blind bake pie crusts for a delicious result.