One method is best for yield pies , while the other comes in clench for custard pies . 🥧

Brie Goldman . Food Styling : Holly Dreesman . Prop Styling : Gabe Greco

Unlike aslow cooker dump dinner , a low - fussno - bake dessert , or astore - buy snack , we jazz that attempting to make a pie from scratch can feel intimidate . There ’s a plenty of layers involved — literally — from the encrustation to the filling to the topping . Plus , variable like the humidity and temperature of your kitchen or thefat content of your buttercan make or break yourpastry crust .

pastry crust in pie plate

Credit:Brie Goldman. Food Styling: Holly Dreesman. Prop Styling: Gabe Greco

To serve you experience prepared and well - equipped to ace your bake , we ’ve tested and perfected thesefan - favorite Proto-Indo European formula . As you peek around that list or peruse other pie recipes , admit family heirlooms , you might acknowledge a couple terms in the instruction regarding that cheekiness : blind bake and equality - bake .

These terms are often used interchangeably , according to Sarah Brekke , M.S.,Better Homes & GardensTest Kitchen brand manager , and they go like they could be describing the same thing . But there ’s really a very important distinction between these two Proto-Indo European unconscious process .

So what ’s the difference between blind baking and par - baking Proto-Indo European crust ? We asked Brekke and a bread maker who whips up pie on the daily , Kristen Daily , owner and head bread maker for Pie Bird Pies in Des Moines , Iowa , to explain .

What’s the Difference Between Blind Baking and Par-Baking Pie Crust?

Every great pie starts with a whole foundation : a crust . And when it come to blind baking vs. par - bake Proto-Indo European crust , prefer one proficiency or the other could be a game - changer if you incline to struggle with soggy , underbaked , or incrustation that do n’t cut flawlessly .

So what ’s the difference between blind baking and par - baking pie crust ?

An wanton memory put-on : equation - baking refers topartially baked .

As for the full term “ unsighted , ” food historians are n’t quite indisputable how this name develop . Some guess that it ’s a Riffian on the Gallic translation of blind baking , cuire à blanc , since “ blind ” fathom similar to “ blanc . ” Or it could refer to the fact that you do n’t see the freshness as it pre - bakes . If you just sum up a pastry freshness to the pan and baked it as - is , it would sink or shrink . ( Do n’t worry , we ’ll discover some tips below for how to blind bake pie freshness so you have a solid — and scrumptious — base . )

“ Whether or not you pre - broil the crust depend on the kind of Proto-Indo European you ’re making , ” Daily tell .

Here ’s a class - by - family crack-up :

When Do You Blind Bake vs. Par-Bake?

A recipe should condition what variety of gall you should start with : unbaked , par - baked , or unsighted adust . But as a general rule , “ if the pick is not going to be baked again in the crust , the incrustation needs to be bake ahead of time ” Brekke says . “ If the filling is broil in the impertinence , the recipe will either call for an unbaked or par - broil crust . ”

If your specific Proto-Indo European recipe does n’t announce which path to take , habituate Daily ’s handy guide :

How to Blind Bake and Par-Bake Pie Crust

Once you ’ve mixed together yourpie pastryrecipe , roll it out , channelize it to a pie cooking pan , then freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes . Chilling is important to reduce the risk for shrinkage , Daily says . ( If you have some external respiration elbow room , we like to refrigerate the pastry dough crust in the pan for 24 hour to help the flour fully rehydrate ; similar to why we wish tochill cookie dough . )

Brekke says that coloration is the best doneness indicator .

Regardless of whether you par - bake or blind bake , it ’s essential to permit the crust cool wholly before attempting to replete it . If you add a raging fill immediately , it could shrink or end up soggy . If you pack a cold filling on top of a warm crust , it may do that mixture to curdle or separate .

Although not everycookieorcracker gall reciperequires pre - cooking , a recipe might call for par - baking or blind baking a cracker or cookie gall , too . This is an even speedier task . You only necessitate to blind broil it at 350 ° F for 10 minutes ( par - bake ) or 12 to 15 minutes ( blind bake ) before filling as desired and diving in !