Well, at first you might just get puzzled if you go with the literal meaning of this baking process, i.e. blind + baking. But that’s not at all what it seems like! One doesn’t have to be blind or blindfold themselves to be trying out this baking technique. So, what is it actually?
Blind baking is said to be the key to mastering flaky pie crust. To partially or completely bake the pie crust before filling it with some sumptuous fillings, one needs to blind bake a pie crust. Blind baking is known as pre-baking is not just used in making pie crusts but also for several other reasons.
- Baking blind speeds up the baking process as when one blind bakes the pie crust then the crust takes way lesser time than the pie fillings itself.
- To make a cream pie or chiffon pie, one doesn’t need to bake at all. Hence blind baking is perfect as it has got a very subtle effect on such kinds of pies, specifically.
- When you try to bake fruit pies, often they turn up into having a soggy base which ruins our baking experience. Hence, blind baking comes to the rescue at this point as it would help to prevent soggy bottom crust in your pies.
- Tart shells are made by using this technique of blind baking.
- Tired of the pies turning puffy while baking? Well sure then blind baking would surely come to your aid. As when we blink bake the pie crust, it is lined on parchment paper and further filled with uncooked beans or rice and baked again, all together. After the baking is done, the beans or rice are removed, and the pie crust is filled.
If you are wondering if it would be too much for you to execute and the easy way out would be to simply order cake online, along with some pies to your upcoming tea party, then it’s your choice. But learning and acing this baking technique would mean that you can forget all your soggy woes and breathe a sigh of relief. Eventually, which is what you won’t regret trying your hands on even if you fail quite a few times. Here is a quick sneak peek as to how to bake blind a pie crust. Take notes and let’s accomplish this baking goal of ours together with utmost confidence!
- Start by mixing the dough and further press it onto a 9-inch pie pan and decorate the edges as desired.
- Prep it up with a parchment paper laying on top of it.
- Make sure the parchment is big enough to cover up the full pie crust and then crease it into a ball. Place the paper inside your pie crust.
- Add some weight by filling up the parchment-lined crust with metal or ceramic pie weights. If you don’t have any of these, then consider filling it with rice or dried beans instead.
- In a preheated oven of 400 F, bake your pie crust for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown on its edges. Your crust is now partially baked, and you can go ahead and remove the parchment paper and weights.
- If your recipe calls for a par-baked crust, then you are already done. Allow the pie crust to cool down, and you go continue with following the pie recipe.
- But if your recipe calls for a completely baked crust, then bake you pie crust for another 15-20 minutes at 375 F. Bake it until you get that crusty appeal of golden brown colour.
- Once cooled down, fill it up with some yummy fillings and your pie is good to go!
That’s how we do it! 🙂
