Blind-baking
Encyclopedia
Baking Blind is the process of baking
a pie crust or other pastry
without the filling. Blind baking a pie crust is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling (such as with pudding or cream pies) or when the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust. Blind baking a pie crust also helps prevent the pie crust from becoming soggy from its filling.
Generally, the pie crust is lined with tin foil
or parchment paper, then filled with dried peas, lentils, beans or other pulses
, or with ceramic or metal "baking beans
" (also called pastry weights or pie weights) so that it will keep its shape when baking. Alternatively, the crust is poked repeatedly with the tines of a fork to produce small holes--this helps the steam escape and prevents the crust from bubbling up. After the pie crust is done, the temporary filling is replaced with the proper filling.
Blind-baking also helps to form a nice pastry case for the filling as it has already been partially formed from blind-baking.
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
a pie crust or other pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
without the filling. Blind baking a pie crust is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling (such as with pudding or cream pies) or when the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust. Blind baking a pie crust also helps prevent the pie crust from becoming soggy from its filling.
Generally, the pie crust is lined with tin foil
Tin foil
Tin foil, also spelled tinfoil, is a thin foil made of tin. Actual tin foil was superseded by cheaper and more durable aluminium foil after World War II, and aluminium foil is sometimes confused with "tin foil" because of its similarity to the former material.-History:Foil made from a thin leaf of...
or parchment paper, then filled with dried peas, lentils, beans or other pulses
Pulse (legume)
A pulse is an annual leguminous crop yielding from one to twelve seeds of variable size, shape, and color within a pod. Pulses are used for food and animal feed. The term "pulse", as used by the Food and Agricultural Organization , is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry seed...
, or with ceramic or metal "baking beans
Baking beans
Baking beans, also called pastry weights, baking weights and pie weights, are round balls, often ceramic, that are used in the blind-baking of pastry instead of dried legumes ....
" (also called pastry weights or pie weights) so that it will keep its shape when baking. Alternatively, the crust is poked repeatedly with the tines of a fork to produce small holes--this helps the steam escape and prevents the crust from bubbling up. After the pie crust is done, the temporary filling is replaced with the proper filling.
Blind-baking also helps to form a nice pastry case for the filling as it has already been partially formed from blind-baking.