Learn how to blind bake pie crust with this simple, foolproof technique. You’ll have golden brown, beautifully shaped pies and NO more soggy bottoms! Recipe includes a how-to video.
It’s pie week here at Sugar Spun Run, and today’s topic is blind baking! Yesterday I shared my easy recipe for homemade pie crust, and today I’m taking things one step further to show you how to blind bake pie crust. Some bakers are intimidated by this practice, but it’s actually very simple and a great skill to have in your repertoire.
Blind baking simply means baking your pie crust without any filling. Bakers do this to either a) cook their crust separately from their filling (for no-bake pies) or b) prevent a soggy bottom. When you blind bake, you can either fully bake your crust before filling (like I do with my chocolate pie and pumpkin pie), or you can partially bake it (also known as par-baking; more on this below). Either way, you’ll be left with a deliciously flaky, sturdy crust that is a far cry from the sad, soggy pie crusts of the past.
Let’s dive in!
What You Need to Blind Bake Pie Crust
Knowing how to blind bake a pie crust is an essential skill that every baker should have. It’s simple and easy too–here’s what you need:
- Pie crust. You’ll need one prepared pie crust. I recommend using my pie crust recipe, but a store-bought crust will work too. Make sure your dough has been chilled before you start to roll it out.
- Pie weights. I prefer using traditional pie weights (and link to the ones I use in the recipe), but you could also use pennies, sugar, rice or dry beans in a pinch. Keep in mind that if you use sugar, your pie can take a longer time to bake (but you can re-use the sugar afterwards!)
- Parchment/foil. I used parchment, but if foil is all you have, you can use that too. Lay a piece of this down before your pie weights for easy removal. Make sure you cut your piece to be long enough so that you can remove it without burning yourself!
HOW TO PREVENT CRUST FROM SHRINKING: The best way to do this is to use a thick crust that you gently press into the top/rim of the pie plate. Fluting or crimping is great for this! It’s also very important to fill the pie dish with pie weights that are high enough to keep the sides from shrinking in.
How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust
- Prepare pie dough and chill as directed in your recipe. Transfer chilled dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and roll into a 12″ circle. Place dough into a 9-10” (23-25cm) pie plate and flute or crimp the edges.
- Put crust in freezer while your oven preheats, at most 20 minutes. Once oven is ready, remove pie from freezer and line with enough parchment or foil to go all the way up the sides of the pie crust and beyond for easy removal. Fill lined crust halfway full with pie weights and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then take the crust out of the oven and carefully remove the parchment and weights to a heatproof bowl. Pierce the bottom of the pie all over with a fork.
- Bake your crust for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Use as desired!
SAM’S TIP: Don’t forget to dock your crust! “Docking” the pie crust, or piercing all over with a fork, allows steam to escape and keeps the bottom of the crust from bubbling up. I always do this after removing the pie weights, but sometimes I do it before too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Typically, you only need to blind bake your crust if you’re making a single-crust pie with a pre-cooked filling or a no-bake pie.
If you’re making a pie with a particularly wet filling, you could always partially blind bake or par-bake (more on this below!) your bottom crust to prevent the bottom from becoming soggy.
Some argue that they’re the same thing, but technically par-baking is a type of blind baking where you only partially bake your crust before using it, whereas blind baking means baking your pie crust until its fully baked.
Par-baking is great for preventing soggy bottoms in custard-based pies, and blind baking is ideal for no bake pies or pies with pre-cooked fillings.
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.
Enjoy!
A few pie recipes that call for a blind-baked crust:
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
How to Blind Bake Pie Crust
Ingredients
Recommended Equipment
- Pie Dish
Instructions
- Prepare and chill your pie crust as indicated in the recipe.
- Transfer chilled pie dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out to a circle that is approximately 12” (30cm) wide.
- Transfer to a 9-10” (23-25cm) pie plate and flute or crimp the edges. When preparing my edges, I like to fold any excess dough beneath the edge, allowing for a thicker crust (rather than simply trimming and discarding it).
- Place pie plate with pie crust in freezer and preheat oven to 375F (190C). You must chill the pie crust for at least 20 minutes and allow oven to fully preheat before proceeding (important note: do not chill the pie plate for longer than 40 minutes, if it becomes completely frozen a glass or ceramic pie plate could crack or shatter when moved to the hot oven).
- Once oven is preheated, remove pie plate from the freezer and line with parchment paper or aluminum foil, using enough that the paper or foil goes up all the way up the inside of the pie crust and beyond (you want to have enough that you can easily lift the paper/foil and weights from the pie crust when you’re done with them).
- Fill lined pie crust halfway full with pie weights or dried beans and place the pie plate on a baking sheet.
- Transfer to the center rack of 375F (190C) preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove from the oven (don’t turn it off!) and carefully use the parchment paper to lift the paper and weights from the pie and transfer them to a heatproof bowl to cool.
- Pierce the bottom of the pie all over with a fork then return to the oven to bake until beginning to turn light golden brown, about 10-15 additional minutes.
- Use blind baked pie crust as desired! Be mindful that some recipes will call for the pie crust to be cooled completely, while others require a still-warm pie crust.
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Margie Rapisarda
do you have any tips on how you get the edges of your pie to look so nice?
Sam
Hi Margie! Did you watch the video? You can watch me make it there. 🙂
Hec
The feature of the page doesn’t work. It’s just a link back to this page.
Sam
I’m not sure what you are referring to? Are you looking for my pie crust recipe?
Rachel
I’m nervous about putting a glass pie dish in the freezer and then putting it in the oven. I’m using a Pyrex dish, but unfortunately it’s not one of the older borosilicate glass pie dishes, it’s the newer one made with soda lime glass which isn’t as resistant to thermal shock. Have you ever had a pie dish shatter when it went from the freezer to the oven?
Sam
Hi Rachel! I have not had any issues. I actually have a note in step 4 about this. You don’t want to leave it in the freezer too long. 🙂
Mickey S
I’m in the process of making a cherry pie for Thanksgiving using your pie crust recipe. I think this pie will benefit from par baking. Should I follow these instructions until the weights get removed (i.e. first 15 minutes of baking) and then fill the pie and apply the lattice? Or does par baking a crust need more time than that to prevent a soggy bottom?
P.S. All the recipes I’ve used from your site have been terrific. You are always my first stop when looking for something to bake! My son-in-law and grandson love your blueberry muffins so much, they keep me supplied with blueberries and sour cream so I will keep making them for them.
Sam
Hi Mickey! If you want a crisp crust it won’t be a bad idea to fully bake it until golden, but you may end up needing to tent the sides to keep it from burning, but it’s the best way to guarantee it won’t get soggy. If you have a specific recipe you are following I would use their instructions. 🙂
Pete Mathis
Can I blind bake by simply weighing it down with a second pie tin?
Sam
Hi Pete! I’ve heard of other people doing this with success, but I’d make sure you’re using a metal pie tin and note that it could take longer to bake. Let me know how it works!