Alright, you’ve mastered the how-tos of mixing your pie crust. You’ve learned how to thoroughly incorporate the fat (butter, shortening, or lard) with all-purpose flour. Once your dough is neatly formed, it’s time to roll it, shape it, and bake it. Now comes the pie-related question I am asked more often than any other: How do you blind bake pie crust? And what is par-baking, anyway?
Par-baking, also known as blind baking, is the process of baking a crust before filling it with fruit, custard, pudding, or ice cream. Sometimes it's quick—around 15 minutes—just to ensure a crisp bottom crust before adding a filling and baking some more. Other times, the crust is fully baked in advance because the filling doesn’t need to be cooked in the oven (think coconut cream pie or lemon meringue pie). Par-baked pies are some of my favorites because they can take a lot less time to put together.