How to Pre-Bake a Pie Crust

Are you making a pie and need to pre-bake the pie crust? This recipe can help you out. This type of baking is often referred to as “blind baking”; however, I don’t think that term is very kind to the blind community, so I will call this a “pre-bake” instead. You might be wondering why someone would want to pre-bake a pie crust instead of just baking the pie or quiche all at once? Most of the time it’s done to prevent the bottom crust from getting soggy. Pre-baking the crust can also help to make it taste flakier & more delicious, in my opinion!

Ingredients & Supplies (makes one pie crust)

1 disc of pie dough which has been chilled for an hour or frozen for 20 minutes
pie dish or fluted quiche pan (for this recipe I used a fluted quiche pan)
rolling pin
optional: flour for dusting the surface
one cookie sheet to place the pie dish on
piece of parchment paper about 18×18 inches square
1 mason jar full of pie weights (I use dried navy beans I buy in bulk with reusable muslin bags)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°
2. Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto clean flat surface (I have a ceramic stovetop & like to roll my dough direclty onto it – but you could also use a table or a kitchen counter )
3. Place chillled disc of pie dough onto the flat surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Start from the middle and work your way out pressing down hard as you roll until the dough is a large flat circle (must be wider than the pie dish or tart pan)
4. Drape the pie crust around the edge of the rolling pin to help move it off the table onto the quiche pan or pie dish
5. Press the dough gently into the shape of the quiche pan or pie dish. If it’s a fluted pan push the dough into each ridge, if it’s a pie dish you can trim the excess dough off and crimp the edges. (if you’re crimping the edges leave about 3/4 inch to an inch of dough around the edge before you trim) If you’re using a fluted pie pan like I did I would recomend removing any extra dough that is around the top of the pan as shown in this pie dough photo.
6. Place the pie plate or pan onto a cookie sheet
7. Put the parchment paper on top of the quiche pan or pie dish & then slowly pour the pie weights or beans into the dish. Smooth the beans out so they are flat and even.
8. Place on the lower third of the oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove from heat, take the parchment paper & weight out and set aside
10. Bake for an additional 5 minutes
11. Remove from oven and let the dough cool for a few minutes
12. The pie crust is now ready to have it’s filling added to it

Tips: When you pre-bake a pie crust you must be careful to use parchment paper and not accidentally use wax paper. I made this mistake once and my pie weights and pie crust were covered in wax! Don’t let it happen to you too! Making pie crust is extremely easy if you’re experienced at it – but it’s not easy for beginners. You might try watching some youtube videos on how to roll out pie dough and how to crimp edges. Practice makes perfect! I can tell you one thing, this pie crust will taste delicious no matter how it looks! Enjoy and please let me know in the comments how you like this recipe!