Blind Baking

Blind baking is when a pastry shell is baked for pies or tarts that will contain fillings that do not need to be cooked, like a fruit tart. A tart shell may also be partially blind baked to help it stay crisp when a wet or moist filling is added. Each oven and recipe is slightly different, but here's a general guideline to blind bake tart shells and pie crusts: Line the tin or pan with dough and chill until firm. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line the dough with a piece of crumpled parchment paper that's just larger than the circumference.

Fill the paper three-quarters full with rice, beans, or pie weights. When blind baking, or partially blind baking, the bottom dough is weighted down so that it doesn't bubble up in the heat of the oven.

Transfer the shell to the preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375*F, and continue baking until the pastry is light golden brown, about 5 more minutes. Remove the paper and rice.

If blind baking the shell completely, bake it for an additional 8 to 12 minutes until the crust is fully browned.