A Little Guide on How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust or Tart Shell

Learning how to blind bake a pie shell is an essential skill to learn if you want to make pies that are perfect for cooled fillings such as pudding, custards and berry compotes. By blind baking, you are either par-baking or fully baking the pie shell so that it will be crisp, flaky and golden brown by the time you add your filling. Before we go forward, do you have a pie crust or tart shell recipe? If not, check out one of our current pie crust recipes we offer on our website. If you are good to go, skip forward to our step-by-step instructions.

• Pâte Brisée is the traditional shortcrust pie recipe that is perfect for savory dishes. Use this recipe to make a delicate and flaky pie shell.
• American pie crust is a more simple version of the aforementioned pâte brisée. It is just as easy to make with one less ingredient.
• Pâte à Foncer is an enriched shortcrust pastry that uses an egg to bind the ingredients. It makes it a more sturdy but easier to work with dough!
• Pâte Sablée is an enriched sweet shortcrust pastry that uses egg and sugar to make an even tastier pie crust. It is intended for desserts.
• Pâte Sucrée is a very sweet shortcrust pastry perfect for tarts and other delicate desserts. It’s so sweet, it’s almost a cookie.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Below, we will teach you how to blind bake a pie crust. If you want to try to make your own pie crust, we encourage it! But this works for store bought pastry dough as well. There are four main types of french pastry: pâte brisée, pâte à foncer, pâté sablée and pâte sucrée.  This method works for all of them in addition to many other varieties of pastry dough.

Step 1: Shape the Crust

You’ll want to carefully lay the pastry into the pie shell and pretty it gently into place. Fold over or trim the edges.

Step 2: Crimp the Edges

If you are making your own pie shell, you’ll want to crimp, flute or otherwise decorate your edges. This serves two purposes: to look pretty and also to help keep the pie crust in shape as it bakes.

Step 3: Chill the Dough

After you have shaped the pie shell and crimped the edges, you’ll want to cover and chill the dough while the oven preheats. This will eliminate excessive shrinkage and melting crusts.

Step 4: Pick your Oven Temperature

Pick your temperature. For a savory pie shell, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C.) For a sweet pie shell, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C.) There are four main types of french pastry: pâte brisée, pâte à foncer, pâté sablée and pâte sucrée.  The pâte brisée and pâte à foncer should be baked at a higher temperature to assist in browning. However, the pâté sablée and pâte sucrée should be baked at a lower temperature to avoid over-browning due to the sugar in the recipe. If you do not know what kind of pie crust you are using, err on the side of caution and bake at the lower temperature.

Step 5: Shape the Dough

After the dough has chilled, you will want to dock the dough with the tines of a fork. Docking means you poke holes in the pastry.

Make sure to cover the bottom and sides of the pie crust to ensure the dough doesn’t puff up during baking.

Step 6: Prepare the Pie Shell

You will want to line the pie shell with two pieces of aluminum foil. You can also use parchment paper, but it is not recommended as it can catch in higher temperatures and often exposes the crust making it prone to over-browning.

The second piece of aluminum foil will help cover the edges of the crust and ensures the weighs do not seep into the pie crust as aluminum foil is prone to tearing.

Now you want to line the aluminum foil with rice, beans, pie weights, flour or even sugar. You need to weigh the crust down to prevent it from sliding, falling or bubbling up as it bakes.

Place the pie pan on a baking sheet if available to make it easier to transfer to and from the oven.

Step 7: ParBake the Crust

Now we are going to parbake the crust. You want to bake for a while with the weights and aluminum foil so that the crust bakes through but doesn’t puff up or get too brown. They call it blind baking because the crust should be completely covered in this step and you can’t see what is going on.

The pie shell may look wet at this stage. This is perfectly normal. The moisture will evaporate as it continues to bake.

Step 8: Return to Oven to Finish Baking

Now you want to carefully remove the aluminum foil and weights to finish baking the pie crust. You can save the weights for the next time you need to par-bake or blind bake a pie crust.

Tips

Here are some common tips for this recipe.

• Do not skip the docking. This ensures the crust will keep its shape during the baking process.
• Do not use plastic wrap or wax paper to line the crust. Some recipes call for these two items. Wax paper and plastic wrap can melt at high temperatures and ruin both the oven and your pie shell. Don’t do it.
• Make sure the edges are completely covered during blind baking to prevent over-browning or burning.
• Immediately after the shell comes out of the oven, a thin layer of egg white can be brushed on to create a barrier for liquid fillings.
• Brush the bottom of a cooled pie shell with tempered chocolate for a barrier to sweet fillings.
• If you do not know what kind of pie crust you are using, err on the side of caution and bake at the lower temperature. You will end up with a blond crust if you guessed wrong, but it will be fully baked and not burnt.

Storage

A fully baked pie shell can be kept at room temperature loosely covered for up to 3 days. It can be frozen up to 3 months. Cover in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil for best results. Thaw overnight in the fridge completely wrapped before using.

Blind Bake a Pie Shell

Learn how to blind bake both savory and sweet pie shells with these simple steps.

Print Recipe

Prep Time5 minutes minutes

Cook Time30 minutes minutes

Total Time35 minutes minutes

Servings8

Calories 175

Ingredients

• 9" (23cm) pie shell or crust

Instructions

• Chill in pie shell until firm. Dock the bottom and sides with the tines of a fork. Place a layer of parchment or aluminum foil on top of the pastry. Fill with rice, flour, sugar, beans or pie weights.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C.)
• Blind bake pie shell for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully remove parchment or aluminum foil to avoid spilling weights. Return pie shell to oven and bake an additional 10 – 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Rotate every 5 minutes for even browning. Remove pie crust or tart shell from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before filling unless otherwise directed by recipe.

Notes

Alternative Baking Method:  Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C.)  Blind bake pie shell for 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully remove parchment paper or aluminum foil to avoid spilling weights. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 – 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

*Glass bakeware can break, crack or shatter under extreme temperature changes.  If using a glass pie pan, bring the dish back up to room temperature prior to placing in the oven

Nutrition Facts

Blind Bake a Pie Shell

Serving Size

 

1

Amount per Serving

Calories

175

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

11

g

17

%

Saturated Fat

 

7

g

44

%

Sodium

 

36.3

mg

2

%

Carbohydrates

 

16.5

g

6

%

Protein

 

2.3

g

5

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.