All about the base

Blind-baking done right

Blind-baking or pre-baking is your way to achieve crisp pastry in pies, tarts and quiches. Blind-baking prevents any soggy bottoms on your pie, and when done right, it also helps your dough stay even and in place, which is of course what you want.

What does blind-baked mean?

First things first. Blind-baking means pre-baking your pie crust before adding any filling. It helps your crust stay even and firm and is the trick to bake up better-than-expected pies.

Firstly, cool the unbaked pastry dough

Once you have rolled out your pastry dough and added it to your tin, put it in the fridge. Let it cool for 30 minutes before baking. Once chilled, add baking paper on top and fill with dried beans or ceramic beans for weight. You’re ready for blind-baking.

How to blind-bake a pie crust?

The whole idea of topping or filling your pie with dried beans, dried chickpeas or ceramic beans is to make sure the crust retains its shape while baking. You should blind-bake the crust until it is half-baked. This helps the crust stay firm and crisp, and ensures that the crust is fully formed before you add the delicious filling of your choice.

Blind bake with beans, chickpeas, or lentils

You probably already have dried beans in your pantry. Bring them out. They come in very handy as pie weights – just like all other types of peas and beans. You can use chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, even lentils. Whatever you have at hand, they will work their magic.

Store the beans or peas you use afterwards – you can use them again and again. They’re not suitable for eating once you’ve used them for blind-baking though, so store them and label them alongside your other baking supplies.

How long do you blind-bake pastry for?

Pastry should be blind-baked for 10-15 minutes. Once out of the oven, remove the baking paper and beans before adding your preferred filling.