Blind Baking

Tart shells and pie shells often need to be baked before they are filled, a technique known as blind baking. If you don’t bake the shell first, it won’t fully bake in the oven once it’s filled and the result will be an underbaked, gummy, icky-tasting crust. Line your unbaked shell with parchment paper or a large coffee filter, and then fill the shell with pie weights, uncooked beans or rice, or even well-washed small pebbles. Press down lightly on the weights to make sure the shell is entirely and evenly filled, and place the whole thing in the oven. The pie weights will keep the shell from bubbling and puffing up. Check the shell for doneness by lifting the parchment and peeking at the color of the pastry. It should be lightly golden and look matte. If it is shiny, it needs to bake longer. Be careful when peeking that the weights (especially if you are using rice) don’t slip under the parchment and bake into the dough. When the shell is done baking, remove it from the oven and let cool until you can remove the weights and parchment. Blind baking can refer to either partially baking a shell or fully baking a shell before filling it. If the recipe calls for baking the filled tart or pie shell for a long time after it is filled (more than 45 minutes), blind bake your shell until it is partially baked. If the recipe calls for baking the filled shell for only a short time or not at all after it is filled, blind bake it until it is completely baked through (see tip #10).