What is a Pie Weight?

• Pie weights are tiny metal or ceramic balls designed to place in the unbaked crust to weigh down the crust and prevent bubbling or blistering during baking. They can be found loose stored in jars or containers, in chains or in convenient cheesecloth bags. Pie weights prevent the dough from rising or puffing and keep the sides of the pie crust from shrinking away from the sides of the pan. Pie weights range in price from $10 to $15.

Laying the Foundation

• Before using pie weights in your pie crust, the fresh pastry dough must be lined with either aluminum foil or parchment paper. This prevents the weights from contacting the crust directly, while allowing you to spread them out evenly over the bottom of the crust. Use care to spread the pie weights to the edges of the crust to prevent the sides from shrinking or sliding down during baking.

Ready, Set, Bake

• Place the pie crust, with the weights inside, into a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes to partially bake the shell or for 30 to 40 minutes to fully bake the shell. Some recipes, such as pumpkin pie require a partially baked pie crust to prevent the crust from becoming soggy when baking the pie. Others, such as creamed pies that does not require baking, require a fully baked pie crust.

Alternatives

• Use dried beans or rice for pie weights by following the same procedure, but don’t count on eating the beans afterward as they may develop and off flavor. Make you own pie weight jar and pour the cooled beans or rice back into the jar after baking to save them as pie weights for another pie. Jeffey Hamelman of King Arthur Flour recommends nixing the pie weights and using two pie plates instead. Line the first pie plate with pastry dough and nestle the second pie plate into the first. Place them on a baking sheet and place two baking sheets on top of the pie pans to weight them down. Bake at about 420 F for 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and remove the top pie plate. Place the crust back into the oven and bake for another five minutes or until the crust is golden brown for a fully baked.