How To Blind Bake A Piecrust

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christine Kelly; Food Stylist: Ali Ramee

There's never a wrong time to make pie. Summer means fruit pies, lots of fruit pies. And no holiday is complete without a dessert table full of decadent favorites.

Since these cream or lattice-topped beauties are always in season, we thought it'd be a good idea to give you a step-by-step guide to the most important part of making a perfect pie—blind baking the crust.

"Blind baking" is the term for baking a piecrust before you add anything to the pie. If you don't blind bake the crust, the liquid from the filling will prevent the pastry from becoming flaky and crisp. You'll be left with a pie that has a soggy bottom. (It tastes just as bad as it sounds).

How to Blind Bake a Piecrust

Before we get started, there are a few things you should always remember about pie dough to get a perfect crust.

• A homemade pie crust needs at least a couple of hours to rest in the fridge before you use it.

• Pull the dough from the fridge right before you roll it out. You want it to be cold.

• Have a greased pie plate or tin ready before you start rolling out the dough.

Step 1. Roll out the dough

Generously flour your work surface and the outside of your pie dough, and roll the dough into a ?-inch-thick disc.

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Step 2. Move dough to pie plate

Transfer the dough to a greased pie plate, and trim the dough so that there is a ?-inch overhang of dough around the circumference. Fold the edge of the dough under itself, and press to seal the dough, making a rim for the pie crust. Crimp the rim in whatever pattern you prefer.

Will Dickey

Step 3. Chill

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. You can wrap the piecrust in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. (Be sure to use a metal or aluminum pie pan if you freeze the piecrust.) This step is optional, but it does help with the flakiest pie crust possible.

Step 4. Fill with pie weights

Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove piecrust from refrigerator or freezer, and place it on a baking sheet. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside the piecrust, and fill the parchment paper with pie weights. (You can use dried beans as pie weights.)

Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly

Step 5. Par bake

Bake the piecrust in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and allow to sit for 10 minutes before taking out the parchment paper and weights from the crust.

Place crust back in the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes. The crust should be lightly tan on the edges and the bottom of the crust should have some color as well. (Note: The crust will not look completely cooked.) Allow the crust to cool before using it to make your favorite pie.

Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly