Blind baking is baking an unfilled pie shell. Sometimes recipes call for partially baking the pie crust. For custard filled pies however you will need a fully baked crust. The only difference between partially baked and fully baked pie crust is a few extra steps. Prepare the pie pastry. Traditional pie pastries work differently, but I always found them doughy. Mine is a simple recipe, healthier than shortening based pastries and guaranteed to produce a flaky pastry each and every time. I never had a better pie pastry than my own.
• Preheat the oven to 425F.
• Make half a batch of pie pastry.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
• Place the dough into the pie pan.
• Avoid stretching the dough.
• Make a flouted edge or press with a fork.
• Trim the overhanging edge with a pair of kitchen shears.
• Using a fork, prick a few holes into the bottom.
• Some people chill the pie crust before baking. This is to stop the pastry from shrinking. Actually I like it if the edge shrinks back a little; the pie is then less doughy and the edge is less likely to fall off when sliced.
• Next line the pie crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights or with dry beans. I keep a bag of dry beans for this.
• Place the crust in the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the pie cool down with the weights. This is the partially baked pie crust.
• For a fully baked pie crust, lift out the weights and gently cover the fluted edge with aluminum foil.
• Put the crust back into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the bottom is golden.
• Keep an eye on it, if the bottom inflates, don’t poke it with a fork; you could poke a hole into it. Instead take it out and gently place the weights inside for a few seconds. This will lower the inflated parts.
• Take out the weights and put the crust back into the oven to finish browning.
