How To Blind Bake Pastry

5 from 1 vote

A step-by-step tutorial to teach you how to blind bake your gluten free pastry. Perfect for avoiding soggy bottoms when making a recipe like quiche.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Course: Pastry

Cuisine: British

Keyword: baking, pastry

Servings: quiche or pie crust

Preheat the oven to 180'C / Fan 160'C / Gas Mark 4 and remove your gluten free pastry from the fridge. Knead it until it's pliable then roll out to your chosen thickness.
Once you've rolled out your gluten free pastry, carefully use the rolling pin to lift the pastry into your pie dish. Don't worry about trimming any overhang yet.
Use your fingers to press the sides of the pie into the ridges of the dish. Break off a small piece of the overhanging dough and roll it into a ball. Then use this to press the pastry in further (it will stop your finger nails going through the pastry!).
Gently push the overhanging pastry back over the pie dish so you have a couple of millimetres which are slightly thicker at the top of the pie crust, to help minimise any shrinking when the pie crust cooks.
Roll the rolling pin over the top of the dish to cut off any overhand, and then remove any excess pastry. Prick the bottom all over with a fork or a sharp knife. This will stop any big bubbles forming.
Place a piece of baking paper over the top of the pastry and fill with baking beans (or dried rice/lentils if using).
Bake in the preheated oven at for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the baking paper and beans, then bake for another 5-10 minutes until golden.
Remove the cooked pastry case from the oven, and then continue to fill it as per your chosen recipe. This will ensure there are no soggy bottoms in sight!