We Tried 5 Different Types of Pie Weights — And Your Pie Crust Will Never Slump Again

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Whenever I cook a pie, I get this mini sound successful my head, whispering complete and complete again, “No soggy bottoms.” Disregarding nan truth that nan sound sounds a batch for illustration Paul Hollywood from The Great British Bake Off, that small sound is still correct — spending hours making a pie only to person it extremity up pinch a soft-bottomed crust is conscionable upsetting. 

So really do you guarantee this doesn’t happen? You blind cook nan crust, which requires baking nan crust before filling it. This ensures nan bottommost is crisp and will navigator through, moreover aft you’ve added your bedewed filling. While you don’t technically request immoderate typical devices for this job, immoderate group (myself included) for illustration to person pastry weights connected hand.

Which type of pastry weight should you get? Well, that’s what this station is for. I tested immoderate of nan astir celebrated types to find retired which ones do nan champion job, are easiest to handle, and are nan astir cost-effective.

Here are nan champion pastry weights, classed from worst to best.

Pie Weight Tool: Single Piece Pie Weight

I bought this single-piece pastry weight and had high-ish hopes for it based connected nan near-perfect standing connected Amazon. While it did fare amended than nan pastry chain, it yet wasn’t a winner. This merchandise weighs astir 0.3 pounds and has a perforated metallic disk encircled by silicone flaps. To usage it, I placed it connected nan guidelines of nan pastry crust, pinch nan flaps flaring up against nan sides of nan crust. Again, this pastry portion lacked nan weight needed to decently blind-bake nan crust, truthful nan crust slumped a bit.

As Cook’s Illustrated notes, this pastry weight useful okay pinch doughs made from a operation of food and shortening. However, successful my expertise, if it doesn’t activity pinch all types of crusts, it’s not a awesome pastry weight. This pastry weight besides made impressions successful nan guidelines of nan pastry crust, and because immoderate parts of nan weight were made from metallic and others from silicone, nan weight itself heated unevenly, causing nan crust to cook unevenly, too.

Instead of comparing nan pastry weights to beans aliases atom (two commonly utilized pastry weight alternatives), I chose bully aged granulated sugar. We’ve written astatine magnitude astir why sugar makes for a amended pastry weight, but 1 of nan champion parts is that you tin get toasted sweetener retired of this method (which tin beryllium utilized successful different desserts!).

The sweetener successfully weighed down nan bottoms and sides of nan crust, truthful location was nary slumping. However, I noticed location was much bubbling astatine nan guidelines of nan pastry than nan 2 champion pastry weight options I tested. The sweetener was besides harder and messier to region than nan coagulated pastry weights — a spot of it did breach nan edges of nan parchment insubstantial and autumn onto nan pastry crust itself. However, it’s nan astir cost-effective action of nan bunch and 1 that I’d employment if I didn’t person immoderate pastry weights handy.

Pie Weight Tool: Metal Pie Weights

These aluminum pastry weights travel successful a two-pound package, which is capable to capable a 9-inch pastry crust. To use, I lined nan crust pinch parchment insubstantial and pressed nan weights into an moreover furniture to make judge they were level against nan bottommost and sides of nan crust. The pastry crust baked up nicely, pinch nary awesome slumping aliases bubbling. I besides liked that nan integrative instrumentality nan weights came successful was spacious, making it easy to move nan cooled weights backmost into aft baking.

The biggest drawback of these weights was their price: At much than $70 for a box, they were nan astir costly of each nan weights I tried and mightiness not beryllium economical for nan casual baker.

These ceramic pastry weights performed conscionable arsenic good arsenic nan metallic pastry weights, but are overmuch little costly overall. Each package contains astir half a lb of weights — to capable an full 9-inch pastry ammunition pinch capable weights to decently unsighted cook nan pie, you’ll request 2 pounds (or 4 packages) of these pastry weights, truthful decidedly summation nan amount erstwhile you’re shopping.

To usage these, I lined nan pastry crust pinch parchment and filled it pinch the ceramic weights. And, hep hip hooray! The crust didn’t bubble aliases puff, and nan sides didn’t slump. The frustrating point astir these pastry weights is that you person to bargain them successful 4 abstracted containers, truthful it’s harder to move nan cooled pastry weights backmost into their individual vessels. However, you tin easy shop them successful a ample reusable instrumentality aliases resealable bag.

How I Tested nan Pie Weights 

To spot which pastry weights worked nan best, I tested 4 different kinds — ceramic, metal, a pastry chain, and a azygous pastry portion — and compared them to regular sugar, which is Kitchn’s favourite method (as opposed to beans aliases rice). I utilized each instrumentality to cook an all-butter pastry crust utilizing a 9-inch pastry plate.

What are your go-to pastry weights? Let america cognize successful nan comments.