While there’s nothing worse than pastry with a soggy bottom, the extra step of blind baking can be a step too far for many bakers.
Whether you’re making a pumpkin and feta quiche or trying your hand at baking the ultimate apple pie, if you want to ensure your pastries are cooked to perfection then blind baking is essential, right? Well, not if you have a NEFF oven.
What is blind baking?
Blind baking is the process of cooking a pie crust or pastry case on its own before you add the filling to ensure there’s a crispy, crusty bake. When you make a pie with a filling that has a high liquid content, this step is usually required so that the crust can maintain its crumbly texture throughout the bake. When blind baking, you need to weigh down your pie crust with baking beans, rice or baking weights to ensure the layers in your pastry don’t bubble or rise, and then bake it in a hot oven for at least 30 minutes.
And here’s a quick cooking tip for you – if you have a , you can effortlessly check the progress on your blind bake with the fully disappearing door. You can also use this innovative technology to easily remove the pastry from the oven without having to awkwardly lean over an oven door.
Many people prefer to use ceramic or metal baking beans (also known as pie weights) when blind baking, as they can be reused. But there are alternatives to baking beans – some of which you may even have in your cupboard.
If you’re new to blind baking, the simplest homemade solution is rice. It acts as a great pastry weight and does not burn – plus it’s easy to tip out or save to use again. You can also use dried peas or lentils if you have those in your pantry instead.
Do I need to blind bake pastry cases when cooking with wet fillings?
As a general rule, you do need to blind bake when cooking a dish with wet fillings. For example, if you’re making a quiche or frangipane, blind baking the crust first will help ensure the pastry case stays buttery and retains its crunch. This will elevate the overall taste and texture of your dish and stop any of the liquid seeping through.
Will my crust be golden brown if I don’t blind bake?
Blind baking isn’t the only factor in getting a perfect golden brown crust. Other things that can impact your crust looking and tasting the part include your cooking time, whether you’ve brushed the outside with an egg yolk or water and the temperature of your oven.
How can I avoid blind baking?
You can skip the whole blind baking method by using the NEFF Circo Therm® Intensive function. How? The intensive part of this function directs heat to the crust during the cooking process, allowing the bottom to crisp to perfection, while Circo Therm® helps to efficiently circulate the air within the oven ensuring both the crust and the filling can be cooked at the same time. In this instance, your filling will act as your weights and will stop the pastry from bubbling, rising or generally becoming soggy, while the heat distribution in the oven ensures your crust is cooked to perfection.
Some of our favourite recipes that use the blind baking technique include our banoffee tart– a delicious sweet pastry dish that will be an instant hit. But if you want to skip the blind bake with the NEFF Circo Therm® Intensive function, then you can bake savoury classics like our creamy roast pumpkin feta and sage quiche, which makes for an excellent lunch or dinner. Or you give this refreshing glazed strawberry and blueberry flan a go for your next event – it’s a certified crowd favourite.
Want to see a NEFF oven with Circo Therm Intensive® in action? Then book a free product demonstrationtoday. Our NEFF kitchen experts will show you how easy it is to bake your favourite pastries in one hit. And they can show you our brand-new Flex Design range. Seamless kitchen design while baking up a storm? Yes please!
About NEFF
NEFF is a German-engineered kitchen appliance brand, with a product range that includes ovens, cooktops, rangehoods, coffee machines and dishwashersdesigned to make life in the kitchen a daily pleasure.For people who love to cook, NEFF gives you the tools tocreate meaningful connections, express your creativity and make memories. Because real life happens in the kitchen.
Whether you're making a pumpkin and feta quiche or trying your hand at baking the ultimate apple pie, if you want to ensure your pastries are cooked to perfection then blind baking
blind baking
Baking blind (sometimes called pre-baking) 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), in which case the crust must be fully baked.
Ready Made Pastry cases - You do not need to blind bake ready made shortcrust pastry. These ready made/ready baked pastry cases are ready to use and can usually hold most fillings and if needed, they can be placed in the oven to cook the contents.
Some recipes like quiches recommend partially cooked pie shells because the baking time wouldn't be long enough to fully cook the dough otherwise. Pre-baking a crust can ensure that your pie or tart crust will be fully baked and browned, and not soggy.
Partially cooking your pastry before adding moist fillings will seal the surface and result in a crisp pastry case – it's necessary, because it means your precious pastry won't turn soggy when it's filled and baked.
When Do You Need To Blind Bake a Crust? There are two times when blind baking is necessary: When we're making a custard pie or when the pie filling is unbaked. With a custard pie, like a pumpkin pie, the moisture in the filling can make the crust soggy before it has time to actually bake.
Blind baking isn't the only factor in getting a perfect golden brown crust. Other things that can impact your crust looking and tasting the part include your cooking time, whether you've brushed the outside with an egg yolk or water and the temperature of your oven.
An egg wash is not necessary when blind baking, though if you want to add some shine to the edges of the pie, you can brush the crust with egg wash after removing the pie weights and before returning the pie to the oven to finish baking.
Blind Bake Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the chilled pie dough with aluminum foil and use granulated sugar to fill the whole pie plate. Bake for 40 minutes; remove the foil and sugar and set the crust aside while you make the filling.
Blind Baked pie crusts: Blind baked pie crusts are a fully baked crust and are used for recipes which have a no-bake pie filling, such as a lemon meringue pie, chocolate cream pie, banoffee pie, or a french silk pie. You want to fully bake the crust, as it will not get another chance to crisp up.
If your recipe calls for a baked or par-baked pie crust, and you are using store-bought pie dough, you still need to par-bake it. For example, if using store-bought crust in this brownie pie recipe, you still need to follow the par-baking instructions in that recipe (which are the same instructions you find below).
Blind-Baking Method: Parchment Paper and Dried Beans
About this method: Using dried beans in place of pie weights is so ubiquitous that you could almost consider this method the control for our experiment.
To prevent them becoming soggy, shortcrust pastry cases need to be partially cooked before adding moist fillings. This process, known as blind baking, which seals the surface and results in a crisp pastry case.
Typically, you only need to blind bake your crust if you're making a single-crust pie with a pre-cooked filling or a no-bake pie. If you're making a pie with a particularly wet filling, you could always partially blind bake or par-bake (more on this below!) your bottom crust to prevent the bottom from becoming soggy.
When blind baking, line the pastry with baking paper and fill to the brim with baking beans/uncooked rice, which will support the sides of the pastry and help prevent shrinkage. Start shortcrust off at 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 to quickly set the pastry. If the oven temperature is too low, the pastry will shrink.
Pastry being soggy in the middle is a result of the pastry being undercooked. Don't place the pastry on too high a shelf in the oven. One way to prevent soggy bottom pastry is to blind bake the pastry – This means partially or completely bake the pastry before adding the filling.
If your recipe calls for a baked or par-baked pie crust, and you are using store-bought pie dough, you still need to par-bake it. For example, if using store-bought crust in this brownie pie recipe, you still need to follow the par-baking instructions in that recipe (which are the same instructions you find below).
Line the base and sides of an uncooked pastry case with non-stick baking paper. Fill with rice, dried beans, or metal or ceramic baking weights. (This stops the pastry base rising during cooking.) Place on a baking tray and cook in an oven preheated to 220C for 8-10 minutes.
Jus-Rol's Puff Pastry Cases are perfect for dinner starters and party treats. Just bake them up in the oven and spoon in your favourite sweet or savoury fillings. They can be served hot or cold.
If you're going to fill it completely, so a sauce or something, no, you shouldn't need to blind bake it. But it will effect your baking time. Rule of thumb with pie baking is, you need to have the pastry baked before the filling boils. If the filling boils, it will seep through your pastry, and it's just bad.
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