Popcorn kernels are an excellent alternative to regular baking beans because they’re inexpensive, easy to find, and they do a great job at preventing your crust from puffing up while it bakes. A small wok is a great substitute for pie weights because it is the perfect size and shape to fit inside a pie dish. Blind baking simply refers to baking a pie crust, partially or completely, without any filling in it.

However, if there's no filling in your pie shell to weigh it down and help the sides uphold their architectural integrity, this process can cause your pie dough to puff up, shrink, and slump. Shrinkage of the sides as they bake can also be an issue, and the sides even have a tendency to fall in or collapse. It involves piercing the surface of the pastry dough all over with a fork to produce many small holes before setting it in the oven.Yuppiechef accepts the following payment options: Visa, MasterCard, Diner's Club, American Express, eBucks, Discovery Miles, SnapScan, Visa Checkout, Zapper, and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Blind baking is actually a rather simple process to master once you understand the reasons for doing it and the steps involved. Rice, popcorn or similar dried foods can also be used, and are something you may have on hand in your kitchen. Finally, if you find that the sides of your crust are burning during blind baking, cover them with foil or use a silicone pie crust shield to protect them. To learn about additional substitutes for pie weights, check out our article discussing the various pie weight alternatives.

There are several alternatives you can use for baking beans, such as rice, dried peas, or ceramic baking beans. The sugar will also help to absorb any moisture from the dough, which will prevent your crust from becoming soggy. Whichever method of blind baking you choose to use, some general advice can help you achieve even greater results.This prevents the pastry base from rising through air bubbles, which would leave it uneven and weakened. That’s because blind baking removes any excess moisture from the dough which could slow down the baking process of your filling. They’ll keep the bottom of your crust from getting soggy while it bakes – and they’ll give it that extra crunchy texture!

When the dough is about 5cm larger than the tin, lift it up draped over the rolling pin and lay it across the flan tin. This makes them ideal for use as pie weights because they will evenly distribute the heat and not leave any bumps or ridges in your crust.This is entirely understandable, as once the filling is baked to our liking, we have to remove the pie to prevent it from burning or over-cooking. While it may sound like an exercise in extreme adventure baking, don’t let its peculiar name put you off. This sumptuous Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart is a chocoholic’s dream, while a batch of Gluten-Free Spinach and Ricotta Tartlets will make the ideal canapes for your next dinner party.

Plus, its fine texture ensures that it won’t leave behind any unwanted bumps or lumps in your crust. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.Simply mold some aluminum foil around the pie crust and up the sides, then fill the crust with sugar. This will prevent it from sticking to your work surface, plus it’ll make moving it across to your baking tin a breeze. 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.