what is the purpose of cooking an empty pie shell prior to filling it..?

Question

wow! thanks for all the answers I received, I would like to elaborate abit, I'm preparing sweet potatoe pies, I've prepared them 100's of times and they always turn out well, I just wasnt sure if I blind baked the shell what would be the difference, perhaps I should do a test pie first.....?

Answer 1

It's called "blind baking", and the purpose of it is to keep the pie shell---especially the bottom---from absorbing too much of the moisture from the pie filling, and becoming soggy.

Also, if the pie is a quick-bake or no-bake pie, the blind baking browns and crisps the crust. Otherwise, the crust would be too "doughy".

When blind baking, you should A) gently poke several holes in the bottom of the crust, and B) weight the bottom of the crust. Both practices are designed to prevent the empty crust from bubbling. They sell food-safe weights for this purpose, but a couple of cups of dry beans will work.

Answer 2

It really depends on what kind of pie you are filling it with. If you are making a pudding based pie that doesn't have to be baked, then it is to ensure that the pie crust gets cooked. Usually when I make a pumpkin pie or an apple pie I don't bake the crust before filling it, but again, that depends on the kind of crust you are using. Put, pretty much, it is to ensure that the crust does get cooked thoroughly

Answer 3

For some pies only the crust needs to be baked. Banana Cream for example or Silk Chocolate. Some fruit pies dont need to be baked like Peach Pie.

Answer 4

Usually done when you are putting a cold filling in for the pie filling such as a cream pie. Lemon meringue is also done with a cooked shell first because the pie filling is warm and then you put it back in the oven to brown the meringue. Otherwise when doing a pastry pie crust, you will have dough that will never be cooked and well.....you can figure that out.

Answer 5

To keep the pie filling from making it soggy. Pre-baking a pie crust usually applies to pies such as Lemon Merange.

Answer 6

usually you do this to keep the crust from getting soggy. You can do this by taking the raw crust, lightly brushing it with egg yolk and sugar, and bake it. It will seal the crust and make it a bit sweeter, keep it firm, won't get as soggy as fast.

Answer 7

it makes the crust sturdy for the filling. if you dont cook it before, the pie crust usually wont get cooked if you just put the filling in!

Answer 8

Its called "baking blind" and its so that the crust stays crispy, and doesn't go soggy.

Answer 9

so it will not get soggy during the baking process

Answer 10

to make the crust crispy and flakey