How to Bake a Beautiful Pie Crust
Before I learned the tricks I use now, I would put in the work of mixing an awesome pie dough, rolling it, and making it beautiful, all to ruin it by throwing it in the oven and having the crust make a huge bubble on the bottom or the sides shrinking till there were no sides anymore. If you have had this same problem… this post is for you. Or… this post is for those of you that haven’t tried blind baking a pie crust before and you
In this post we are going to go over how to BLIND BAKE a pie crust. This means that you bake the crust without any filling in it. There are a few tricks that make blind baking a pie crust just right. Watch this tutorial below to find out more or if watching isn’t your thing, keep reading for step by step instructions.
The first step is going to be to set your oven to a high temperature. Every oven is going to bake different and you may have to experiment a little to see what works for your pie crusts. I have found that I like to set my oven to 425 degrees. What happens if you bake it too hot is the edges will start to get a little too dark without finishing baking the crust. Next, you need your pie crust. I often will bake my pie crust straight from the freezer but you can bake your crust from the fridge or right after you roll it out. Anyway you bake it, these instructions will work the same way.
I have my uncooked pie crusts and will show you 2 different ways to bake these beautifully. The first pie I will take a piece of foil and cut it into about a 12×12 inch square. You don’t have to cut your foil but I don’t like a ton of excess around the pie. Next, I take some non-stick cooking spray and lightly spray the foil. Next, you are going to take the foil and place it sprayed side down in the pie crust. If you are not using a frozen pie shell and you are using a pie crust that you just rolled out, be careful when placing the foil so that you don’t ruin your beautiful edges. Once you get your foil in the shell, you are going to need something to hold the pie crust in place for the first part of the baking.
I bought pie weights to use at home because I never make more than one or two pies at a time but when I made them in bulk, I would use rice or dry beans to hold the crust in place. All three options work just fine. The rice and beans have a little bit of a smell when they first start baking in the oven but they do the job. I don’t cook the rice and beans for consumption after using them as weights but work great as pie weights again. If you use rice, you need to be careful when pouring the rice in the shell not to let the little grain get in between your foil and the pie shell. They are so small that they will bake in the crust and they are really hard to get out. Beans are a little easier to see and get out but it is better if you don’t get them stuck either.
Now I will take my pie weights and pour them on top of the foil. Take your fingers and spread them out and push them lightly into the bottom edge so they will do their job by holding the shell in place. I filled the pie up with about one pound of weights and that will do the trick for the weights. Beans and rice may be a little lighter and so it may look like you have to add more in volume but it will end up being similar in weight.
The foiled pie is now ready to go in the oven. Now, lets talk about the next way to do the same thing. This way is basically the same but instead of foil, we will use parchment paper. You can cut your parchment paper smaller if you want to. Just like above, I like to use about a 12×12 size parchment square. I will again take some non-stick cooking spray and spray lightly and then place the parchment sprayed side down in the pie. Remember if your pie shell is not frozen or really cold to watch the edges so they don’t get smashed while putting the paper in. I then take the pie weights and pour them in the bottom of the pie on top of the parchment paper. Another reminder – Be careful when using rice or beans not to get them in between the paper and the shell. Spread out the weights just a little to make sure they hold the shell in place.
Both pies should be ready to go in the oven now. Before I put them in the oven, I like to put them on a tray just in case the oils drip off the side, I like to have an easy clean up. I always say this, but all ovens bake differently and the thickness of your crust is really going to determine how long you will keep them in the oven. After I put the shells in the pre-heated hot oven, I set my timer. I start with about 8-10 min. What I am trying to do in this first stage is cook the pie shell long enough to have the shell hold its shape when I take the pie weights out but be able to take the pie out and still have little bubbles form on the bottom of the shell. If I leave the pie weights in too long it compresses the pie shell a little more than I like but if I don’t cook it long enough, it will probably shrink up and lose its shape more than you want.
After my timer goes off, I will check on the pie crusts. I will pull back the parchment paper or foil and peek at the shell. At this point, the edges will start to look a little more dry or more cooked but probably won’t have any color on it yet. You won’t be able to completely see the bottom but it should still look doughy and some of the sides. If it looks like this and you are ready to take the weights out, take all four corners of the parchment or foil and pull it straight out of the pie.
At this point, the dough is only partially cooked and so you still need to poke some holes on the bottom and the sides to vent the dough. I use a fork and poke plenty of holes on the bottom of the pie pan as well as the sides. Once I get the holes created, it goes back in the oven for 5-6 min.
The pie crust is done when the little bubbles that have formed on the bottom of the pie start to color just a bit. You don’t want it to look wet or doughy but you want it to be a light color but cooked all the way through. The edges of the crust will now most likely have a little bit of golden color. I let this cool and then it is ready to be filled with some pastry cream pudding or chocolate pastry cream or fresh fruits…. I love it! So satisfying and beautiful!
The pie crusts now need to cool and then will be ready to fill. You can fill with some pastry cream, chocolate pastry cream or fresh fruits…. I love it! So satisfying and beautiful! Now you have been able to conquer making an amazing, beautiful, homemade pie crust from scratch! Until next time… go experiment in your own kitchen.
xoxo
Krissy
