Any pie involving a custard, a particularly juicy fruit, or an unbaked filling will require a par-baked, or blind-baked crust.
INGREDIENTS
Single pastry or cornmeal pie crust, prepared as described here.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
Parchment paper
3 cups dried beans
Heat-safe container
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Remove the crust from the freezer and line it with parchment paper. (I cut my parchment paper into rounds and keep a stack in the pantry.) Fill it with the dried beans, pushing the beans up the sides and leaving the center shallow.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Carefully lift out the parchment and beans. Pour the beans into the heat-safe container to cool. Toss or keep the parchment for future use.
Return the crust to the oven. Bake it 10 minutes longer if you need a lighter crust that will require further baking once the filling is added. Bake it for another 25 minutes (or till it’s golden brown) for a completely baked shell. If you have issues with your crust shrinking while blind baking, be sure to let the dough rest prior to cutting it, and take care to use a pastry flour: even all-purpose flours can have too much elasticity.