How to Blind Bake Pie Crust

Learning how to Blind Bake a Pie Crust is an essential skill to master for the art of making pie. It may seem intimidating, but it's quite simple to do! This comprehensive guide will take you through all the essential steps, including the required tools and techniques, to confidently par-bake your pie crust.

There are few skills more important in pie-making than ensuring that the pie crust gets baked properly. A properly baked classic pie crust should be flaky, a bit tender and fully baked from the crust on down to the bottom. Many people are intimidated by blind-baking a pie crust, but it's actually quite simple to do if you follow a few easy tips and tricks.

So, let's get to it, shall we? The article below is jam-packed full of useful information. You can jump around using the menu below, or skip to the end of the article for the full recipe.

Jump to:

• Tools Needed
• Par-Bake Pie Crust vs. Blind Bake Pie Crust
• What Types of Pies Need Blind Baking
• Visual Step-by-Step
• Blind Baking Different Types of Crusts
• Kelli's Best Tips
• Blind Baking FAQs and Troubleshooting
• More Pie Tutorials
• Full Recipe

Tools Needed

You don't need a lot of tools, and in fact, I own nothing special for this. Some people like to use specially purchased pie weights, but I don't find them as helpful as using dried rice and beans. I like to use dried rice and beans because they are smaller, and can really pack into small crevices and do a great job holding up the edges of the crust so they don't sink down.

I keep the same rice and beans for many years and reuse them to blind bake pie crusts. Occasionally they will get too oily and they will need to be replaced. And over the years I add to the collection of blind baking rice and beans as needed, and by the time I am ready to replace the batch I've been holding on to, there are all different types of dried legumes and grains included in them. I've used everything from dried peas, to quinoa to forbidden rice.

Here are the tools I use to blind bake a crust:

• a pie plate
• parchment paper (preferable)
• dried rice and or beans
• a fork to pierce holes in the dough to let steam escape (if applicable, more on that below)

Par-Bake Pie Crust vs. Blind Bake Pie Crust

Several terms describe the process of blind-baking a crust, and it might seem a bit confusing since they are often used interchangeably, despite having different meanings. Some use the term "blind baking," while others prefer "par-baking." Essentially, these terms are synonymous because they both involve partially baking the crust before adding the filling. But par-baking technically refers to a partial blind bake of the crust, meaning the crust is only cooked about ¾, with the expectation that the crust will cook for additional time with the filling. Whereas a full blind bake, means that the crust is entirely baked through.

A pie crust should be fully blind-baked if the filling is of the no-bake variety. Meaning you bake the pie crust entirely, and then fill it with something, such as for this Pistachio Cream Pie.

A pie crust might be partially blind-baked first when it is intended to be filled with a pie filling that is baked at a low temperature, such as a this Ham and Cheese Quiche.

I find that there are only a few minutes difference in terms of baking time between these two baking distinctions. For a partial blind bake, I generally look to make sure the pie crust isn't at all raw, in that it's fully cooked, but just barely. For a full blind bake I look to see that the crust is flaky with a light golden color in the middle of the pie crust.

What Types of Pies Need Blind Baking

Nearly any pie that has a filling that needs to be baked below a temperature of 400ºF should be blind bake. The reason for this is that a pie crust, at least a classic butter pie crust, needs a long baking time at a high temperature in order to be fully baked through.

Pie types that benefit from blind baking:

• most single-crust pies (such as this Apple Butter Pie)
• quiches (Like this Caramelized Onion Quiche)
• custard pies (Like this Classic Custard Pie)
• no-bake pies such as cream pies (Like this Chocolate Cream Pie)
• chiffon pies

Pies that don't need blind baking:

• double crust fruit pies (Like this Blackberry Pie)
• single crust fruit pies with a crumble topping (Like this Apple Crumb Pie)
• double crust savory pies (like this Chicken Pot Pie)

Visual Step-by-Step

Blind Baking Different Types of Crusts

This website is filled with all types of different pie crusts, made from all types of different ingredients, ranging from the Basic Butter Pie Crust to a sweet pie crust known as Pâte Sucrée. While the process for blind-baking is nearly identical for all pie crusts, what does change is the oven temperature and the length of time needed to blind bake.

A basic pie crust that consists primarily of white flour and butter always benefits from blind-baking at 425ºF. However, if sugar is added to it, it's better to bake it at a lower temperature of 400ºF, to prevent the sugar from burning. Though, it will need to be baked for longer to ensure it's fully baked through.

Similarly, if a pie crust uses whole grain ingredients such as spelt or whole wheat flour, it's also best to bake it at the lower temperature of 400ºf and increase the length of baking time to prevent burning the whole grains. The photos in this post are of a whole wheat pie crust.

A crumb crust, such as a graham cracker crust, does not act the same way as a raw flour pie crust, but still can be blind baked to ensure it is crisp and that it holds together. It should be baked at the lowest temperature to blind bake of 350ºF for a short 10 minutes, or until it starts to get fragrant in the oven.

Kelli's Best Tips

After over a decade blind baking pie crusts, I certainly have a few tips to share!

1. Place pastry in the pie tin properly! Make sure the pastry fits snugly in the pie plate, eliminating large air gaps that can prevent proper browning and baking.
2. Chill the pastry! I never roll out a pie crust and then immediately bake it. Always chill the rolled out pastry for at least 15 minutes in the freezer, or 30 minutes in the refrigerator. This is a minimum requirement. It's better to let it rest for a few hours to relax the gluten.
3. Create steam holes, but only on certain pies! Take a fork and dock the pie crust all over so that the steam escapes during baking. If you don't do this, the pie crust will puff up and steam is created in between the crust and the pie tin. Steamed pie dough is never a good thing. However, some pie recipes do best by skipping this step, such as Lemon Meringue Pie, so be sure to read the recipe of the pie you are planning to use before you blind bake.
4. Use a round piece of parchment. I find that actually cutting out a circle of parchment is helpful than using a square piece of parchment because it allows you to really evenly get into the edges of the pie crust. It's important to push / fold the parchment paper circle into the edges of the pastry. This helps keeps the side of the dough from slipping in.
5. Use your senses, not the kitchen timer! It's always useful to have a time guideline, but never rely on that fully. Use your senses (such as sight and smell) to help you decide if the pie crust is done blind baking. For a partial blind bake make sure there is no evidence of raw dough. For a full blind bake the crust should have a matte appearance and depending on how crisp you want the crust, it should be starting to turn light golden to tan.

Blind Baking FAQs and Troubleshooting

More Pie Tutorials

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