If you want fine, crisp pastry, it’s a vital step. But there are ways to save time …
“People seem to find blind baking annoying because they think it’s slightly pointless,” says Gelf Alderson, culinary director at River Cottage and author of Great Pies. “After all, lots of recipes say to blind bake for only 15-20 minutes, which is just not correct.” Instead, he insists, you need to do so for at least 35-40 minutes, and at a low oven temperature, too – 160C-170C (depending on your oven): “If someone has never blind baked for that length of time, they’ll never have seen a really nice result, which is why it would feel a bit pointless.”
If you’re dealing with a wet, liquidy filling in an open tart (think custard or chocolate, or an eggy quiche), and you want a fine, crisp pastry case, you simply won’t achieve this any other way, says Shaheen Peerbhai, chef-owner of Miel Bakery in London, adding that it’s worth remembering that the crust is “part of the experience, and not just a case. It’s important to respect that and give it its dues.”
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