Blind Bake

Blind baking is baking a pastry base partially before adding the ingredients. This firms up the pastry base so that it is a little crustier and stronger and can hold moist ingredients without going soggy during the cooking. It is also useful when the filling needs very little cooking and would be ruined sitting around waiting for the pastry to cook.

Steps

 * 1)  Select your pie dish.  Tin or glass pie dishes are traditionally used.
 * 2)  Place your freshly prepared pastry into the pie dish according to the recipe's instructions.  To get it to fit snugly, drop it onto the kitchen bench gently a few times to help the pastry settle into the edges.
 * 3)  Chill the pastry base for 1/2 an hour in the freezer to firm it.  (Cover it with a clean tea towel or greaseproof paper.)
 * 4)  Dock the dough. Pierce the base with a fork in several places to allow the air to flow through.  This helps to prevent air bubbles. Don't overdo it, though. A few holes will help; too many will let the filling escape.
 * 5)  Place one of the following over the pastry base, cutting the covering wide enough to make sure it covers the edges as well:
 * 6) *Baking paper (parchment) or greaseproof (wax) paper
 * 7) *Coffee filter (unbleached)
 * 8) *A sheet of foil (some cooks believe this brings about a stodgy base as the foil prevents "breathing")
 * 9)  Place dried beans, dry rice, dry lentils or pie weights over the surface of the covering.  This prevents the pastry base from rising through air bubbles, which would leave it uneven and weakened.
 * 10)  Place in an oven at the temperature and for the length of time suggested by the recipe.  If there is no suggested temperature, or you are making this up as you go, heat the oven to medium heat (approx. 200ºC/400ºF) and bake the base for approximately 15 minutes, (less for pastry containing sugar).  Keep an eye on its progress and gauge for yourself when it looks baked firmly enough. The key colour to watch for is a light golden brown.  Any darker indicates that it's staying in too long.
 * 11) Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 - 5 minutes. At this stage, some chefs also brush with egg to create a barrier between the filling and the pastry case. This is optional.  If you do choose to add it, cook the base a little less time in step 7.  Pop the glazed base back into the oven for a 2 minute bake to set the egg glaze. Remove once again and allow 1 minute for cooling before adding the filling.
 * 12)  Add filling and bake the pie for the time recommended by your recipe. If you are not following a recipe, reduce the heat for the last baking (180ºC/350ºF). Since the base and edges are baked by now, the longer you leave the whole pie in the oven, the browner the pastry will get.  To allay this, make sure the filling will bake quickly (sometimes you will need to precook it to get the baking time down enough) and cover the edges of the pastry with tin foil.

Video Demonstrations of Blind Baking

 * Pre-baking bottom crust with foil:


 * Using a mould:

Tips

 * Fillings that would benefit from a blind baked pastry case include: fruit (stewed, fresh); custard; lemon meringue; quiche, etc.
 * If you don't have the luxury of time to chill the pastry or let it sit for a bit (this firming assists in stopping the pastry from shrinking during baking), make sure you have covered the pie dish with adequate pastry so that any shrinkage will not affect the ability of the pie to hold contents; even chilling it very briefly in the freezer firms the base a little prior to baking.
 * Keep your "blind baking beans" in a jar for reuse again and again. Label it so that you don't accidentally cook them!
 * You can purchase "pie crust shields" for the edges of your pastry if you wish.

Warnings

 * Try not to stretch your pastry to make it fit - it will only shrink in the oven and disappoint you!
 * Don't pierce the base of a pastry that you are not blind baking and are adding wet liquids to - the liquids will run through the holes into the pie dish and make the base soggy.
 * Watch out: dried beans will give off a bad smell in the heat of the oven.

Things You'll Need

 * Your pie or flan recipe
 * Pastry base
 * Rolling pin
 * Pie dish
 * Dried beans, dry rice, dried lentils, pie weights, etc
 * Greaseproof or baking paper; or foil
 * Filling

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make Strawberry Tarts
 * How to Make Puff Pastry
 * How to Make Eclairs
 * How to Bake an Apple Pie from Scratch
 * How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies