Pastry Weights

[kalyson]

I've been scouring the Internet to find pastry weights. Cooks Illustrated said they were the best thing to use with prebaked pie shells -- better than beans, rice, etc. But no one seems to have them for sale. Maybe I'm not using the right term for them? Do they have a more descriptive name than this?

[Anna N]

I've been scouring the Internet to find pastry weights.  Cooks Illustrated said they were the best thing to use with prebaked pie shells -- better than beans, rice, etc.  But no one seems to have them for sale.  Maybe I'm not using the right term for them?  Do they have a more descriptive name than this?

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Try searching for "pie weights" rather than "pastry weights". Here's one site I came up with and there are many others:

Ceramic Pie Weights

[kalyson]

Thank you so much! I'd been spending a lot of time searching in vain for these things.

[russ parsons]

i use dried beans and they work great. at one point, i did a story pointing out that you could use pennies and it would still be cheaper than buying pie weights.

[tsquare]

And here

Sur La Table

[SweetSide]

i use dried beans and they work great. at one point, i did a story pointing out that you could use pennies and it would still be cheaper than buying pie weights.

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Watch out with the dried beans though... We were using some in a class that had obviously been used repeatedly. Even though the beans didn't touch the pastry (which was parchment lined), the pastry ended up with the smell of old burnt beans.

In the oven, the butter in the pastry absorbed the odor. So much for those shells -- even though we had to use them in the class -- blech!

So, if using beans, stick with those that haven't been baked into oblivion..

[lcdm]

I bought mine at Home Goods.

I tried using dried beans once, never again, they stunk up the whole house.

[devlin]

I bought mine at Home Goods.

I tried using dried beans once, never again, they stunk up the whole house.

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I use dried garbanzo beans and aluminum foil. They work beautifully, and the beans never stink up the house or the oven. I've got some pie weights too, but really they seem nearly the same to me except the garbanzo beans of course are way cheaper.

[jsolomon]

There is always steel...

clean ball bearings work, too

[russ parsons]

i use dried beans and they work great. at one point, i did a story pointing out that you could use pennies and it would still be cheaper than buying pie weights.

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Watch out with the dried beans though... We were using some in a class that had obviously been used repeatedly. Even though the beans didn't touch the pastry (which was parchment lined), the pastry ended up with the smell of old burnt beans.

In the oven, the butter in the pastry absorbed the odor. So much for those shells -- even though we had to use them in the class -- blech!

So, if using beans, stick with those that haven't been baked into oblivion..

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wow. i've been using the same beans for at least 5 years and have never had that happen. and the beans i'd been using before lasted just as long before my wife threw them out (don't you hate it when someone else "straightens up" your kitchen). For a brief time, I used rice, but that was a huge mistake. Ever try picking individual grains out of partially baked tart shell after the foil liner splits?

[lcdm]

I bought mine at Home Goods.

I tried using dried beans once, never again, they stunk up the whole house.

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I use dried garbanzo beans and aluminum foil. They work beautifully, and the beans never stink up the house or the oven. I've got some pie weights too, but really they seem nearly the same to me except the garbanzo beans of course are way cheaper.

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I thought the beans would have worked well and was surprised that they didn't. I used dried Kidney beans maybe that had something to do with it.

[cookman]

I've been scouring the Internet to find pastry weights.  Cooks Illustrated said they were the best thing to use with prebaked pie shells -- better than beans, rice, etc.  But no one seems to have them for sale.  Maybe I'm not using the right term for them?  Do they have a more descriptive name than this?

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Another thing that works well is a piece of lightweight chain, coiled around the inside of the pastry shell. (I bought mine at Lowe's). Easy to pick up and remove.

[Priscilla]

Another thing that works well is a piece of lightweight chain, coiled around the inside of the pastry shell. (I bought mine at Lowe's). Easy to pick up and remove.

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Now that is a FANTASTIC idea! I've been pondering a metal replacement for my years-used beans, and that'll do it.

[Lindacakes]

You can buy a nice pie chain from King Arthur.

[Amy Eber]

WILLIAMS-SONOMA HAS THEM/

[Sugarella]

Well I'm definitely odd man out on this one because I use polished river stones.

[JAZ]

i use dried beans and they work great. at one point, i did a story pointing out that you could use pennies and it would still be cheaper than buying pie weights.

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I do use pennies. They work beautifully and they are cheaper than pie weights. (It's surprising how quickly you can collect enough for several pie shells. But if you don't want to wait, go to the bank and buy three or four rolls.)

[aidensnd2]

I use rice...

[Anna N]

Well I'm definitely odd man out on this one because I use polished river stones.

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Now that's a darn smart idea. Thanks.

[Dorie Greenspan]

I stopped using metal and ceramic pie weights a few years ago when I decided that they weighed crusts down too much. After taking care not to overly work a dough so that it will be flaky or, in the case of a tart shell, tender, crumbly or cookie-like, it seemed counterproductive to put heavy weights on the dough when it baked. These days I use beans (or rice) for pie dough and often freeze tart crusts made with a sweet butter dough, like pate sablee or pate sucree -- I bake the tart shells, straight from the freezer, with nothing but a foil liner pressed firmly against the dough. If the tart crust puffs, I just press it down gently with the back of a spoon or prick it once, if necessary.

[nicolekaplan]

Well I'm definitely odd man out on this one because I use polished river stones.

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now that's zen, just right for the pastry kitchen

[phlawless]

I am making some individual single crust pies and want to know if I can use weights wrapped in plastic for blind baking. For large format crusts, I line with parchment, but this seems like it will be a PItA...

Will the plastic melt at 350 for 10 minutes?

[alanamoana]

i use plastic to blind bake and don't have any problems. just make sure that the plastic is the heavy duty restaurant type, NOT regular saran wrap. also, make sure the plastic doesn't touch anything metal while baking or it will melt. otherwise, you should be golden.

[John DePaula]

I like to use those plastic roasting bags, cut to size.

[alanamoana]

john, i think you said that somewhere else and i think it is a great idea. what with all the concerns we've had lately with plastics (bottles, etc), at least these things are meant to be put in the oven. my concern is price and are they reusable?