Baking & Pastry

Pie Weights

Hold pastry flat and crisp during blind baking

Ceramic or metal beads that weigh down a lined pie shell during blind baking so the crust holds its shape and doesn't puff or slump. Line the chilled shell with parchment first, then fill it to the rim. Dried beans work in a pinch.

Pie weights are small ceramic or metal beads that hold a pie crust flat and in shape during blind baking — the process of partly or fully baking an empty shell before the filling goes in. Without them, an unweighted crust puffs up in bubbles, slumps down the sides, and bakes unevenly, leaving you with a shrunken, warped shell. Lining the chilled crust with parchment and filling it to the rim with weights presses the pastry firmly against the pan so it bakes flat, crisp, and true to shape. Custard, cream, and quiche pies — anything with a wet filling that needs a pre-baked crust — depend on them. Dried beans or raw rice work as a free stand-in.

Types & varieties

Ceramic beads

The common type; hold and radiate heat to set the crust.

Stainless-steel balls

Conduct heat faster for a crisper, quicker-set base; pricier.

Weighted chain

A flexible bead chain that lifts out in one piece — tidy, but presses less firmly.

Dried beans or rice

A free substitute; reusable for weighting (though no longer for eating).

How to blind-bake

Line your chilled, formed crust with a piece of parchment (or foil) pressed snugly into the corners, then pour in enough weights to fill it to the top rim — not just a thin layer, which won't hold the sides up. Bake until the edges are set and pale gold, then lift out the parchment and weights and return the shell to the oven to dry out and brown the base. Always chill the formed crust first so it holds its shape going into the heat.

Chill the formed crust before baking so it doesn't slump
Fill the lined shell all the way to the rim so the sides stay up
Remove the weights partway through to brown and dry the bottom

Using a substitute

Dried beans, raw rice, or even white sugar work perfectly as weights — fill the parchment-lined shell the same way. Once you've baked with them they're no longer suitable for cooking and eating, so label and keep them in a jar as dedicated pie weights. They can be reused many times. Sugar has a bonus: after blind baking it's toasted and can be saved for baking that wants a deeper caramel note.

Common uses

Blind-baking pie and tart shellsPre-baking quiche crustsSetting crusts for no-bake fillingsKeeping crusts flat for cream and custard piesWeighting parchment over flat bakesPressing terrines and pâtés (steel weights)

Tips & pitfalls

Always blind-bake custard, cream, and quiche shells so the bottom isn't soggy
Fill to the rim — a thin layer of weights lets the sides collapse
Dock (prick) the base and chill the crust to further prevent puffing and shrinking
Let weights cool completely before pouring them out; they hold heat a long time