Two Methods of Par-Baking and Blind-Baking Shells

To make a pie with a precooked filling, such as a lemon meringue or banana cream pie, you need to “blind-bake” the bottom crust in advance. Blind-baking is simply precooking a crust.

For pies that have a short cooking time, or for custard pies in which the filling cooks faster than the crust, “par-baking” is the way to go. Par-baking is partially baking a crust before the filling is added, so it can bake completely without overcooking the filling.