Blind baking

Baking a pastry crust before it is filled, so the bottom is crisp and fully cooked.

Blind baking: an unbaked tart shell lined with parchment paper and filled with ceramic pie weights, ready for the oven
  • Techniques and preparation methods

Also called: baking blind, prebaking a crust

The rolled pastry is lined with parchment or foil and filled with pie weights, dried beans or rice, which keep it from puffing up and the sides from slumping. After the edges have set, the weights are lifted out and the crust is baked a little longer to dry the bottom.

Partly blind-baked crusts are used for fillings that are baked afterwards, such as custard or quiche; fully baked crusts are for fillings that are not baked, such as pastry cream, lemon curd or chocolate. Chilling the lined tin before baking helps prevent shrinking.

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Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Blind baking (Q4926488), Wikidata