How to Blind Bake a Pie or Tart

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we have officially entered into autumn, the season that reminds us change can be beautiful.  it also brings with it chunky sweaters, plaid, crisp mornings, and pie, i mean thanksgiving....

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obviously as of late i've had galette on my mind.  the rustic, slightly less pretty cousin to pie.  but thanksgiving is all about pumpkins & sweet potatoes, and with those you need pie.  you also need to break out your skills of blind baking, to avoid the dreaded soggy crust conundrum.

blind baking quite simply, refers to prebaking the crust before adding the filling.  it helps to prevent a soggy crust for pies that have moist fillings, like pumpkin or lemon meringue.  it's a simple process and one that any pie devotee should have in their back pocket.

happy baking. 

cheers.xo 

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to blind bake a pie or tart:

preheat oven to 375 degrees F, or according to your recipe.

place your dough in a pie plate and crimp edges.  use a fork to prick the bottom of the pie shell to prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes.  line the dough with a piece of parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dried beans or even pennies.  

transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.  this helps stabilize the butter and will prevent shrinkage from happening.

bake for 20 minutes.  remove pie from the oven, and lift out the paper and weights.  prick the bottom of the crust once again with the tines of a fork.  return the crust to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes for a pie that will continue to be baked in the oven {pumpkin, sweet potato, or custard} and 15 to 20 minutes for a pie that will have a cold filling.

allow crust to cool.

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