Pastry Weights

[Eden]

I use muffin papers filled with dried beans - works great! I keep the muffin papers in the jar with my Pie-weight beans and re-use them...

[alanamoana]

forgot that i also used to use coffee filters. they're pretty cheap and you can cut them down to size easily. they take shape better than parchment and they're non-toxic.

[sugarseattle]

I do the restaurant saran thing, and have also used mini muffin liners (I do a TON of mini-tartlets) I keep searching around Home Depot for something that could work instead of beans, since after a while, the beans STINK. I have heard that putting them in the freezer helps them to not stink, but it always seems like a step I'm too lazy to make. I was thinking some sort of little metal bee-bees (sp?) would be good instead of beans, but haven't found them yet.

[John DePaula]

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?

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actually, now that you ask, I'm not certain that I've reused them though I think they would be...

[John DePaula]

forgot that i also used to use coffee filters.  they're pretty cheap and you can cut them down to size easily.  they take shape better than parchment and they're non-toxic.

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I like this idea as I share your concern about the plastics.

[andiesenji]

I have a bunch of Pyrex custard cups (and another brand ?-name) - I think there are 4 different sizes. I set them into a muffin liner and onto the crust.

I just stack them with the muffin liners between the cups and store them in jumbo Zip-loc bags. I think I have 3 dozen of each size and the cups weigh enough to keep the pastry in place.

I have also used the custard cups upside down on a sheet pan to shape crusts for blind-baking a thicker "sweet" crust - Nick Malgieri's recipe - as I have found it bakes more evenly since the air circulates around it better.

I cut the rounds and run a docker over them while flat on the board, to keep them from bubbling. It's much quicker this way.

[juliachildish]

Actually, when I make mini-tarts, I freeze the tarts in the tart rings for about a half hour before baking, and then they generally keep their shape pretty nicely without using any weights at all. I'm not sure if that's an option for you, as I'm a home baker, but it works for me!

[MarkIsCooking]

Unless I'm making a mini-tart where the fluting is small, I use pennies as weights. I have tons of them and it's a whole lot cheaper than the pie weights they sell in the stores.

-Mark-

[phlawless]

i love the filter idea...actually there are a lot of great ideas here.

Thanks!